Only Human
by sitabethel
Summary: The Thief's heart balanced on the scales of Ma'at; the Pharaoh's did not. However, Ma'at will only send Atem back if she can send the Theif and Alter Ego back as well.
1. Thief King

*****Being real, this isn't very good. It's something old that I wrote in a notebook years ago when I was stressing out and about to quit a job I hated, so instead of punching people in the face I experimented with first person (which I hate. I hate first person so much).But, idk, a lot of ppl I know are stressed right now, so maybe this story that distracted me during a bad time will help distract someone else now- that's why I'm posting it. So please enjoy this very mediocre fanfic lol. Each chapter name will be who's p.o.v. the section is being told from.*****

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Three thousands years was a long time to be strong. The human soul wasn't meant to do and see and feel so much without taking rests, and I felt the effects. I felt everything. All the pain I suffered. All the pain I inflicted on others. All bricks on my soul.

I know how people think of me – a tongue licking blood off of gold, a cackle rising up into black sky and silver moonlight, a dark trench coat fluttering in a darker alley. Those things were all me, true enough, but there was more than that – a clumsy toddler's hand holding a large date and drooling as I gnawed on the sweet fruit, a pair of brown feet splashing in river-water and silt, an adolescent thief raiding my first caravan and managing to steal nothing more than a bottle of cheap wine and my first kiss from the merchant's son. Now _that_ was a scandalous adventure. I should tell you that story instead, but it's not the story you asked for.

The Tribunal. The Weighing of the Heart Ceremony. The air smelt like heat and dust. The air felt warm, a good warm, like in the heat of a tomb while you sleep off the hateful sun for the day before you raid in the moonlight. I never minded a little sweat on my temples or dust between my toes. There, in that Other World place, the gods didn't ask for the negative confessions, perhaps they knew better than to have me lie to their faces. I saw the Pharaoh; that didn't surprise me. What surprised me was seeing Marik's Shadow. I suppose that anything wanting to live that badly by default had enough soul to be Judged. He looked sad.

Anubis led me to the scales. They show you the carvings in stone, man and jackal all jumbled together, but his smell was jackal. That didn't bother me either. Animals smell honest, only humans cover their rank with perfume to hide the shame of themselves. The god, the beast, the man, whatever he truly was dug his claws into my chest and pried open my ribcage in order to reach my heart. I was dead, but it hurt like fuck. Holy, fucking gods it hurt. The air rushed into my core like a wave of needles. He ripped my heart away from its cradle of veins and tissue and placed it on Ma'at's scale.

Nothing moved, not up or down, not even a tremble.

"That can't be right," the Pharaoh objected. "He's evil."

"What is evil?" I asked him again, just like I asked him three-thousand years ago.

"You've hurt people."

"So have you."

"I was protecting my friends."

"I was avenging my family."

"They were thieves."

"I called them Mother and Father." I shook my head.

The last Shadow Game had been the last of me (last of my energy, last of my hate, last of _me_ ), and I lost. There was nothing left of me in that Other Place. No room for hate, or vengeance. I wanted to see my mother. Yes, even a devil like me will yearn for his mother when things bottom out, and I had three-thousand years of crying to get out at her feet, and fuck if I was going to waste time fighting with the Pharaoh when all my empty soul wanted to do was finally heal.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Aren't you tired?" I turned to look at him. He was soft on the eyes for a jackass. I think I always hated him more for it. "I'm too exhausted, I want to go Home. I just want to go and see them. I want to go Home."

I stepped to the side. My heart was back inside me, though I wasn't sure how. Ma'at rested a hand on my shoulder. She had the touch of a butterfly wing against your cheek, all soft and not there and you want to smile because it tickles your skin. I looked at her, something blue-sad lingered in her eyes and the look terrified me. Something was wrong, and the gods weren't going to save me when the reality of it burst through.

Anubis pulled Atem to the scales. He pulled Atem's chest open and stole the heart from the Pharaoh's body. When the organ rested on the scaled it teetered. Up and down. Up and down. For a long time the balance shifted, as if the scales themselves couldn't tell the true nature of the Pharaoh's soul. Finally, they stopped. The Ostrich feather sat a hair higher than the Pharaoh's heart. Such a small difference, but not true balance.

"That's wrong," the Pharaoh insisted.

Marik's Shadow cackled. His laughter echoed in the Tribunal chamber. "At least I'll have company."

"Why do you think it's wrong?" Ma'at asked, her voice placid.

"I wasn't ready to move on. I was forced. I didn't have enough time with my friends. My heart's heavy with grief!" Tears welled in the Pharaoh's eyes, a purple Nile flooding in the monsoons.

He made such a pretty argument, sad and desperate. He stood like the worst kind of princess, all beautiful elegance and helpless victim circumstance. The worst of it all was that he believed what he said. I'd respect him more if he'd lie to save his soul. You can lie to others and stay true to yourself, but if you bullshit yourself then you'll wallow in your own excuses until the truth stagnates like shit in an unkempt latrine. Damn Pharaoh was face-down in that kind of self-pity muck at that very moment. He really thought he was in the right, and his poor princess victim circumstances were unjust – stupid, fucking twit.

"I can send you back," Ma'at said.

His eyes lit up, two purple dawns. "You can? I can see the others again?"

"Yes, you can see them again, live your life with them, and when you come back we'll see if your heart truly balances or not."

The Pharaoh dropped to one knee, pressing a hand over his chest which was closed again although I don't remember seeing it closed. "Thank you."

"But I have to balance the scales."

My stomach sunk to the bottom of my bowels, as if I knew what she'd say next.

"If you go back, the other two go with you."

"No." I fell to both knees, the ground hard and painful on my knees as I clutched at Ma'at's skirt. There was no pride in me at that moment – only a sick panic scrambling my brain. "No . . . no. Destroy my soul. Let Ammit take me. Just . . . please . . . anything but sending me back."

I was weak, and I hated being weak, but the weariness in my soul left nothing inside of me but grief, and I couldn't take it anymore. I could feel existence spin, so fast and all at once, but at the same time endless, and I needed rest or oblivion because all the bits of me were about to twirl into a separate direction until my soul puked sadness and misery and rage all over the gods' sandboxed-universe, and then what would they play in after I ruined it all?

"That's not right!" Marik's Shadow screamed. It shocked me to hear his voice, so much different from Marik's. "Sending the Pharaoh back is cheating, but whatever, at least you should let the thief go on to Aaru. Look at him. He's all broken and you want to throw him back on the ground. Even I have enough sense of right and wrong to know what you're doing is wrong."

"I miss my friends," Atem said.

"That's not how the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony works, dear Pharaoh. Do you think I want my soul gobbled up? No, but I accept that my only true existence is in this place, and that it's about to end. You won't see my crying to the gods about it."

The Pharaoh turned to Ma'at, begged her with his eyes for reassurance. Instead of responding, she looked at me. "Isn't there someone you miss as well? Someone you'd like to see?"

"I'll see him again when he moves on," I whispered.

"You're not curious? What your life would be like with him?"

I paused, glancing over to Marik's Shadow. He looked angry, but he always looked angry. He had stood up for me, and I couldn't help but wonder if that was because part of Marik was in him.

"If you go back . . . Marik will come for you," Ma'at said.

I shake my head. "I can't . . . I . . . I need to rest . . .please don't. Don't send me back. I'm begging you."


	2. Ryou

After three weeks of overtime, I curled into a nest of blankets and pillows on top of my bed. My room was bright, sunlight highlighting the game pieces scattered across my dresser drawer. I ignored the light best I could and curled my feet deeper into my nest. The cell phone rang. I considered chucking it against the wall. Bad enough that I had to work the next day when I should have been off, I wasn't going in on the only day I did have off. Having one day to hide in my nest was the only thing keeping me sane enough to function in society.

When I saw "Yugi" on the caller I.d. I resigned myself to answering the phone. Yugi was one of the few people I would always answer the phone for, although sometimes I wished he didn't know it. I snatched the phone and pulled it into my sanctuary before answering.

"Hi Yugi. I finally got a night off so if you're playing any games tonight count me in."

I heard a sigh on the other end. "I'm sorry Ryou . . . I called with some odd news."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing is really _wrong_ , but you should know – they're back."

I didn't need to hear who "they" were. "Both of them?"

"All three of them. They have their own bodies now." A brief pause and then Yugi continued, "They're all just kinda sitting here in my living room."

I had to take a moment to think of who the third one was. My best guess was Marik's alter ego. It didn't make sense, since the other Marik was never an individual, only a broken piece of Marik's psyche, but then again, 3,000 year old spirits appearing in Yugi's living room in physical bodies didn't make any damn sense either. So much for the door to the after life being sealed after the Ceremonial Duel.

I untangled myself from all my lovely sheets and blankets, and tripped onto the carpet when I tried to stand. Muffling a grunt, I spoke into the receiver, "I'm on my way."

"Okay, I'm going to call Marik."

"Probably a good idea. Hey, Yugi? You're okay, right? Are they trying to kill each other?"

"They're just sitting and looking confused. Even Atem won't talk much to me."

"Give me 15 minutes. Bye." I hung up the phone, tossed on yesterday's blue jeans and a clean t-shirt, and ran out the door.


	3. Marik no yami no jinkaku

I sat on the couch of my former enemy and stared at my hands. Hands that I don't have to share with my other half. Hands that are mine alone. They're the color of toasted pecans and large, but too smooth, like baby hands. I still liked them. I liked the thought of them, of having hands of my own, of never having to fight for control again.

The Pharaoh's former vessel made one phone call and then another. He looked at us, turning his head towards the thief. "Ryou's on his way."

The thief didn't respond. He curled into a tighter ball with his knees tucked into his chest and his head down. I don't blame him after what happened during the Tribunal. He sat on the floor, in the shadows, away from everyone else.

Yugi turned to me. He fidgeted with the phone before speaking. "Um, I'm sorry, but Marik – erm, your other Marik – he can't make it."

I note how he said "can't make it" like Marik's missing a get together. Mine and the other two's surprise birthday party – which I guess that's what this was since we were reborn – and damn if it wasn't a surprise. I wasn't surprised, however, to hear that Marik didn't want anything to do with me. Besides, fuck him – I had my own hands now.

The thief, on the other hand, raised his head from his knees. "What do you mean Marik's not coming?"

Yugi jumped at the thief's tone and turned back to look at him. "Well, I mean, he doesn't live in Japan like the rest of us. Honestly, he sounded nervous. I'm sure the thought of his other self brings back bad memories." He spun back towards me, raising his hands up as if to protect himself and using his phone as a shield. "N-no offense, it's just that—"

"I know," I said.

The thief clenched his teeth, but then spoke again. "Did you tell him I was back?"

"I told him all of you were back."

"That selfish prick." The thief bolted to his feet and marched towards Yugi.

The Pharaoh intercepted, placing his body between Yugi and the thief. "You're not going near him, Bakura."

The thief shot the Pharaoh a look that I knew well – pure hatred, pure rage. I liked my lips at the sight of it, fond memories. The thief kept his gaze targeted at the Pharaoh, but spoke to the vessel, enunciating each word with control to mask the fury. "Yugi, may I borrow your phone, please."

Yugi pushed between the two resurrected spirits. "It's okay. Here Bakura."

They still called him Bakura, even with the dark skin, short hair, and scar on this cheek. I snorted at their ignorance.

The thief hit re-dial and walked into the next room. Muffled bickering echoed to the living room. At the same moment, the thief's former vessel opened the door and stepped inside, flushed and panting as if he'd been running. "Got here – as soon as I could."

"Hi Ryou." Yugi smiled. "Uh . . the other you is on the phone . . . with Marik?" Yugi raised the pitch of his voice, turning the sentence into a question he wasn't really asking.

Ryou nodded, unsurprised. His eyes darted to the Pharaoh, still standing next to Yugi, and then his gaze landed on me. He smiled. He smiled at me like he meant it and that made me frown. People didn't smile at me, especially someone nice like Ryou Bakura. I never met him, not _properly_ , but I saw bits of his mind when Marik used him during Battle City. His smile lit up his face, completely different from when the thief used his body. That smile transformed him from attractive to stunning and I couldn't turn away or breathe. I've only known looks of fear, helpless rage, contempt, revulsion. I couldn't understand why Ryou would smile at me, but it made me squirm against the cream colored damask upholstery of the sofa.

"So?" Ryou bit his lower lip and thought for a moment. ""Does anyone know how this happened? I mean, how you guys came back?"

I laughed and pointed at the Pharaoh. "He failed his Judgment at the Tribunal."

"I did not," the Pharaoh said, sullen.

I snorted. "Yes. You. Did. The thief's heart balanced against the feather of Ma'at. He was meant for Aaru, but then they put Pharaoh Atem's _ib_ on the scale and it sank. He started whining that the sorrow of losing all his friends here was too much of a burden on his heart."

"That's the truth," the Pharaoh insisted. "My heart was heavy with grief, so the gods sent us back."

That made the Pharaoh's vessel smile, but the thief's former host held a straight face. "Why not just you? Why couldn't my other half move on?"

I answered before the Pharaoh could speak. "Pharaoh needs to live longer to figure out how to uphold Ma'at." I look directly at Atem. "You never could, you know. Not without _him_." I point to the Pharaoh's vessel, Yugi. "But Ma'at refused to send him alone, so here we are. Not that I mind. I was next in line to be judged and I was getting ready to see if I could devour Ammit before she could devour me."

Ryou laughed. "I just imagined you belly flopping on top of Ammit and biting into her."

I laughed with him. It was a ridiculous scenario, but I couldn't get it out of my head, and the more I thought of it, the funnier it was. For a moment the mysteries of the universe were a joke for us to laugh about. I'd laughed plenty of times before, but that was the first time I'd ever shared a laugh with another human being. It thrilled me. It unwound the vice of anger always clamped so tight around my chest and head and jaws, but the Pharaoh ruined it with his frown.

Ryou stopped and covered his mouth with a delicate, porcelain hand. He stared at the ground when he noticed the shocked, somewhat horrified stare on Yugi's face and the stern disappointment on the Pharaoh's expression.

Ryou apologized. "I'm sorry. I guess it's not polite to joke about the gods."

I wanted to yell at Ryou, demand he retract his apology. He didn't do anything wrong, only make a joke. It was funny. The Pharaoh just needed to pull the sarcophagus out of his ass and enjoy the life the gods forced on us.

The Pharaoh glared at me as if he could hear my thoughts. "And what are you going to do now that we're back? I won't allow you to hurt anyone."

What was I going to do? I hadn't made it that far yet. I was still enjoying the feeling of having my own body, of being able to _think_ without another consciousness in my brain interfering. Hurt people? All I wanted to do was sit on the sofa and collect my thoughts while I stared on my new hands. At my most ambitious I'd make a crack about what spices would go well with Ammit sashimi because I bet I could get Ryou to laugh again with a comment like that, and that thought held my attention more than drawing blood.

But the old, always-there anger bubbled up from the back of my mind. The Pharaoh had no right to question me, not after his heart sank below that feather, but he still thought himself the hero and me and the thief were villains for him to vanquish. Fuck him.

"Let's be clear. You may be the reason I'm back, but you won't get any gratitude from me, nor will you command me like one of your servants. _I hate you._ I was created to hate you, remember? I don't know about anyone else, but as far as _you're_ concerned, _you_ better stay away from me if _you_ don't want to be hurt."

The Pharaoh bristled. His idiot friends worshiped the ground he walked on and he wasn't accustomed to being told what for. He opened his mouth for a rebuttal, but Ryou interrupted.

"Look, I know there's a lot of bad blood between you two and being friends is probably impossible, but you don't have to fight anymore." He looked at me. "You get to reroll a new character, draw a new hand. You don't have to be the alter ego anymore. You can be whatever kind of person you _want_ to be."

It was nice to hear someone say that, because I really liked the idea of figuring out what . . . perhaps who, I really was. Before, my decisions and my thoughts weren't completely my own, I was a garbage can for Marik. I don't blame him for that. Fuck, we were kids, and the shit we went through . . . It was too confusing to sort out on Yugi's couch. I needed time, but it was still nice to hear Ryou say it out loud – that I could draw a new hand with my own hands, my own cards from my own deck. No more sharing.

However, I didn't want to seem tamed in front of my enemies, so I snorted and stared at my hands instead of trying to explain the mess of thoughts in my brain. Instead I said, "yeah, because the gods, with their omniscience and their omnipotence, incarnated me with money and a passport."

"Okay, good point." Ryou walked up to me, sat on the couch next to me, and rested his hands over mine.

I held my breath. No one had ever touched me before. They touched Marik, but not me. I've felt contact, usually as people struggled to escape me, but that's not the same as someone choosing to touch you. I stared at the contrast of our hands. Mine were broad and dark; his were slender and pale. I noticed a scar on his left hand. I wanted to ask about it, but the Pharaoh stared at us so I kept a stoic face.

Ryou squeezed my hands and continued talking. "How about this? I only have a couch, but as long as you don't hurt anyone, you can crash at my place until you decide what you want to do with you life and how you can go about doing it."

I blinked at him. I didn't know how to respond. Since I met him, Ryou smiled at me, opened his home to me, and touched my hands as if I were . . .

 _A person._

 _Anything other than a monster._

 _Human._

"Ryou you can't!" Yugi protested. "He's dangerous. He sent you to the Shadow Realm, don't you remember?"

Ryou let go of my hand and scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin decorating his face. "Actually, he sent the Spirit to the Shadow Realm because my other half was trying to save the other Marik by challenging this Marik to a Shadow Game . . . " he glanced at me, "ever notice how confusing that all sounds when it's said out loud?"

I grinned at him.

Yugi opened his mouth to argue, but then stopped. "Wait, Bakura tried to save Marik?"

Atem crossed his arms over his chest, muttering, "he wouldn't try to save anyone – not unless there was something in it for him."

I thought about Battle City. Back then, the Pharaoh acted like he wanted to help my weaker half because Yugi wanted to help, but they still stood on opposite sides of the playing field. Only by submitting to the Pharaoh, forfeiting the game, was my other heart able to save himself. However, when I fought the thief, Marik stood beside the thief like they were equals. No submission, no conflicts of interest, it was just Marik and the thief against the fires of Ra, and not once did they flinch at those odds.

The Pharaoh snapped his fingers as he thought of something. "The prophecy on your back. I bet that's why he aided Marik. He needed my memories."

I smiled. I wanted the expression to be bitter, but it felt more rueful on my face. "That's what the thief said back then. Only he and Marik knew that if I lost, Marik's body and the prophecy _carved_ into it, would disappear with me."

I realized that I'm calling him Marik instead of myself. I said Marik's body. Well, it was his body now. I had my own, but who was I if not Marik? I didn't know. I continued talking to avoid that question.

"True, the thief would have gotten the Rod, but by then he knew the Items were useless without the secret on our backs." I laughed. I managed to make it bitter that time. "No, great Pharaoh, the thief fought against me because my idiot other half asked for his help." I gesture the other room where the arguing filtered through the door. "And that's how Marik repays him."

"It doesn't . . . I don't understand." The Pharaoh frowned.

"I know. _That's_ why you're here, Pharaoh. You don't know about anything that doesn't directly affect you. That's why your heart couldn't balance with an ostrich feather. You. Honestly. Don't. Understand. The. Suffering. You've. Caused. You don't. You can't. You'd have to spend five minutes thinking that perhaps you're not always right about everything."

The Pharaoh dismissed me with a gesture. "You're just trying to—"

"Speak! I'm just trying to speak!" I clench my new hands into fists. "No one will look you in the face and tell you the reality of it and I'm sick of it. Maybe you are the manifestation of Horus, everyone treats you like it, but you're still a selfish asshole. Someone needs to say it. You're an asshole."

"Scathing words from a lunatic."

I was tempted to snap his neck for the sake of seeing if the gods would send him right back to life or not, but the thief pushed the door open and stomped into the living room, growling into the phone's receiver.

"Yes of course, because you're so busy. I mean, I'm sure it's exhausting running an organized crime ring all by yourself. After all, without the Rod you have to hire a hit-man to kill your underlings when they fail instead of waving your magical wand . . . oh yes, redeemed, you mentioned. Good for you . . ." The last silence lingered as Marik spoke on the other end. The thief crushed his eyes shut; his face reddened. "Don't ask, it's not like you care." He jabbed the "end call" button on Yugi's phone and caulked his arm back as if to throw it. He grunted, thinking about his actions, and tossed the phone to Yugi instead. "Thanks kid."

Ryou looked sad, his eyes big and empathetic. He stood up. "Come on. Let's go home."

The thief snapped at Ryou. "My home burned to the ground over 3,000 years ago."

He glared at the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh glared back, oblivious as ever. Yugi blinked like a confused puppy, but I could see him trying to piece things together. The thief's outburst, his different appearance, the new knowledge that he'd helped Marik, Yugi was beginning to understand the thief wasn't as simple as he seemed. Yugi was a good successor to the Pharaoh, more balanced. I wasn't with Marik when the Pharaoh fought his Ceremonial Duel, but I can see how the kid won just by looking at the thoughtful expression on his face.

A sigh slipped unbidden from my mouth. If Ryou took the thief home, I wouldn't have anywhere to go, but of course Ryou would look after his own other half. That's how it worked – for everyone but me – Marik abandoned me. He made me, dumped every hurt and agony on me, and banished me (not that I blame him for that. I was trying to do the same to him). We hated each other . . . so why did I feel broken knowing he wasn't going to come back to Domino City?

"Let's go home." Ryou tugged at his red sleeve. "You don't want to stand here next to the Pharaoh, right?"

I jerked when Ryou touched my shoulder on his way towards the door. "You too, let's go home."

The thief sneered. "Not him. I don't want to look at _any_ Marik right now."

Ryou shook his head. "I'm not leaving him here. You're both coming home with me."

The thief snorted, but he couldn't hold his annoyance on his face. The shell cracked and a glimpse of the pain he was hoarding showed in his gray eyes. "Sure. Whatever. Just . . . get me out of here, Ryou. I want to be anywhere else."

"Ryou," Yugi protested.

Ryou smiled. "Don't worry. Now I have enough people to start a gaming campaign. You relax and enjoy your reunion with your own other half."

"We can't let them go with you. It's too dangerous," the Pharaoh said.

The thief set his jaw at the statement, and I feel just as pissed. Even dogs knew better than to shit where they lie. The thief wasn't a spirit in a Ring anymore. I wasn't an alter ego anymore. The taint of the Items wasn't filling our heads with black rage anymore. Why couldn't he see that? Fucking asshole.

Ryou simply smiled. "Danger? I don't think I've ever been safer walking down the streets of Domino than with these two beside me. It's like I have body guards."

"That's not what I meant."

"Sorry Atem, it's been nice to see you again, but it's my only day off and I'd really like to go home now. Bye, Yugi. I'll call you on my lunch break tomorrow, okay?"

Yugi nodded, resigned. "Please text me before then so I know you're okay."

"No problem. Oh, and if Marik happens to call back, please let him know they're both with me and give him my number."

"Sure."

"That pig-headed bastard isn't going to call." The thief frowned, but before his expression grew too thoughtful he smirked at Ryou as we walked out the door. "Hurry up. I need to find a knife so I can stab you once or twice for old time's sake."

Ryou laughed and turned back to Yugi and the Pharaoh. "He's joking."

"No I'm not," the thief insisted, louder than need be for everyone to hear him.

Ryou shut the door and laughed a little louder. "Oh shut-up with the stabbing jokes, I just calmed them down. You're lucky they didn't try to stop me again."

The thief tched as we walked down the hall. "What were they going to do? Keep me there?"

"Huh, maybe Yugi will baby sit you for me when I'm gone."

"Ha, ha." The thief dropped his head and slowed his walk. "Thanks . . . for getting me out of there. I was about to strangle the Pharaoh just to see if the gods would bring him back right away or wait awhile."

I laughed at that. "Same here, only I was going to snap his neck."


	4. Bakura

I walk behind them. I feel ridiculous in my red robe and dark waist wrap. Why the fuck didn't the gods have enough common sense to resurrect me in modern clothing? Idiot gods.

Ryou stopped in front of a Western-style restaurant. "Wait right here. I'll be five minutes." He disappeared through double, glass doors.

I looked away from Marik's double. I didn't want to admit it, but it hurt to look at the other half of my former partner. They weren't identical, but they had enough brother-like similarities that it hurt all the same. My eyes slipped over to his face, just enough for a side-glance. He stood with his hands in his pockets and kicked pebbles off of the curb.

"Don't kill him," I said.

"Gods, who can't I kill this time?"

"My host. I won't really stop you from killing anyone else, but he's off limits."

"His name is Ryou, you stupid bastard."

"What?"

"He's not your vessel anymore. Stop referring to him as an object. His name is Ryou."

My jaw dropped an inch. "Huh. That's the most practical thing you've ever said."

He shrugged. "It may sound weird, but I don't think I'm crazy anymore. Fucked up, sure. I definitely have issues, but . . . I don't want to kill anybody." He smirked. "Unless they give me a reason. Then it'd be my pleasure to send them to the gods that rejected me."

Ryou appeared with three paper bags. "I wish I could welcome you guys back to the world of the living with a feast, but I've been working overtime and don't have the energy. Burgers will have to do for us tonight."

I noticed how Marik's alter ego acted bashful around my former host, looking away as he took the paper sacks to carry them. I decided to let the observation slide for now, but I stored it for future sardonic commentary. It's weird to watch them though, like an alternate universe version of me and Marik; only I've never seen Marik bashful, and they're too nice to each other to really be us. Even on the phone I found myself baiting Marik if for no other reason than to hear him yell at me for a few minutes longer. Stupid, it's stupid how much I missed his demanding voice. Fuck him, bastard, fucking bastard.

We reached Ryou's apartment and sat on the living room carpet, each of us with a paper bag. Ryou had a dining room table, but he never used it. I looked in the bag; it contained a hamburger and fries. I took a bite and tried to push all my thoughts away from the foreground of my mind. Marik's image came unbidden as if he stood behind me and used the Rod to force himself into my brain. My stomach churned and I set the food down.

"Not hungry?" Ryou asked in a soft voice.

I shake my head no.

"Can I have it?" The doppelganger of my former partner asked.

I push the bag towards him. He grinned and attacked the fries. I realized it's probably the first time he'd ever tasted proper, hot, greasy, junk food. Marik was the _eat to live_ type.

Ryou patted my hand. "It's been three years, you know, and all of a sudden Yugi calls and says you're all back. Give Marik a little time, Spirit."

Marik's other half snorted. "Spirit. Might as well call him Bakura – your idiot friends still do."

Ryou frowned. "What was your name? When you were alive?"

I shrugged. I sacrificed my name thousands of years ago for revenge.

"You don't remember, do you?"

I shrug again. As if I didn't care, as if it didn't bother me.

"Do . . . do you like the name Bakura?"

I'd never thought if I liked the name or not. It was convenient to use when people wanted to address me. I liked it well enough –

– _when Marik said it._

No. Fuck him.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't call you Spirit anymore. You have a body. You're alive now."

"Call me whatever you want. I don't care."

"Bakura is as good a name as any other." Ryou tried to smile.

He's always trying to smile everything better. I really should have stabbed him, and punched Marik in his smug, prick face, and strangled the Pharaoh with Piano wire, but I wouldn't do any of it. Instead, I'd sit on the carpet and stare at the red of my cloak to avoid looking at anything else. I didn't want to be alive. I didn't want to be in a stupid, mortal, living body. I wanted to see my family. Damn the gods, fucking damn them, and fuck Zorc for not being strong enough to destroy everything. Living hurt too much, and I couldn't deal with it anymore.

Ryou looked at the other Marik. "What about you? What should we call you?"

"Mari—" The word strangled in his throat. " . . . I'm not really Marik anymore, am I? Who does that make me? I tried to think about that earlier, but the Pharaoh wouldn't shut his damn mouth." He looked lost, grasping for the name Marik never gave him.

Ryou leaned a little closer to him. "Be whoever you want."

He looked back at Ryou, a facetious grin playing on his plump lips. "Just take a name for myself? Anyone I want?"

"Why not? I mean, who could stop you anyway?"

He nodded. "All right. Call me Kek."

Ryou tried to say the name, but kept pronouncing it _Keku_ , his Japanese tongue demanding another vowel to soften the hard consonant ending. Kek forced him to repeat the word until Ryou said it properly.

"Why Kek?" Ryou wrinkled his nose at the word.

"He was one of the old gods of chaos and darkness."

"Oh you _would_ pick a name like that for yourself."

I smirked. "He was also known as _Dawn-Bringer_ , maybe you're not as dark as you think."

"Shut-up. At least I picked a real name and didn't decide to call myself Ishtar."

Ryou giggled. "That'd be funny, since Ishtar is a fertility goddess."

Kek growled and filled his mouth with a generous bite of hamburger.

"I like Kek. It's a good name," Ryou said.

Kek swallowed and grinned at his hamburger. "Marik would be really pissed off right now if he saw me eating red meat."

I smiled at the thought because I knew it was true. Even in separate bodies, Marik would be pissed, as if Kek was something that still belonged to him and, therefore, needed to follow Marik's specific set of rules.

Ryou sat on the carpet, holding his knees and rocking side to side. "So what should we play?" He looked at me. "Monster World?"

I shook my head no. It was a struggle to hold myself together at the moment and there was no way I could handle an rpg. I never could play a game casually – they always managed to consume me, and I'm like to do anything when the stakes get high. I impaled Ryou's hand into a castle spire during the heat of a game.

At that moment I felt on the verge of unraveling. All the years and all the struggles were wrapped around my throat and if I laughed in victory one moment I'd curl up in a ball and weep the next. I refused to let them see me like that.

 _That_ was why I never cared. My whole existence I built the finest walls around my heart, entombing that piece of my soul away from anyone's reach. If you let someone in – if you cared – you became vulnerable. Marik slipped past my defenses and all I could do was sit in Ryou's living room and shake my head 'no' because if I did anything else I was going to shatter.

Ryou gave me a sad smile. "Yeah, I bet you're tired. We'll play that another night. It'll give me more time to pick a good campaign, anyway." He turned his head towards Kek. "Well? Duel Monsters or something else?"

Kek looked surprised. "You – You'd actually play Duel Monsters? With me?"

"Why not? Let's see how tough you are without Shadow Magic and god cards."

"I don't _need_ that stuff to win – it's just more fun to use them."

Ryou waved off Kek's comment and fetched his extra cards so they could both fashion decks. A sneaky smile crept on Ryou's face. "Let's use banned cards."

"Thought we weren't cheating?"

"I didn't say no cheating; I said no Shadow Magic. Besides, there's cards we both like on the banned list."

"Like what?"

"Like Monster Reborn."

"They banned that? Assholes."

Ryou nodded. "And it's not like we're practicing for a tournament, so let's just use the cards we want to make the game more fun."

I watch them play. At first they teased each other and joked. I wondered if either of them realized how badly they were flirting and then decided that the idiots didn't have a clue. Ryou wasn't even being shy about it. He kept using his bare foot to press against Kek's knee if he took too long to pick a card. Kek would swat at Ryou's foot, but I could tell it was an excuse to touch Ryou.

As the game went on, however, their faces hardened and the banter stopped. Occasionally Kek would goad Ryou with an insult, but his efforts were futile. I've seen that look in Ryou's face too many times; he was in game mode and no taunt or insult would pull his mind away from his strategy.

I forgot about Marik for a moment as I watched them play. For the first time since I found myself in Yugi's house, I felt calm enough to relax. Ryou had Dark Necrofear out and her ability won Ryou the game after Kek chose the wrong monster to attack.

Pissed off from losing, Kek grabbed the cards and tossed them into the air. They fluttered down like confetti. He grabbed the notebook they used to keep score and tore at the sheet with his teeth and nails.

Ryou sat oddly calm through the tantrum, looking bored and resting his chin in his hand. "When you're done throwing a fit you can clean my cards up off the floor."

"Fuck you!"

Ryou dropped his hand in order to sit up straight. "Quit acting like a bitch, Kek."

I blinked my eyes at his statement. I felt like he somehow stole my line; the snarky reply was more my style. I looked at my former host. Three years was a long time and I wondered what happened to harden him enough to watch Marik's former alter ego go on a rampage without so much as flinching. The answer cramped my stomach. Nothing. Nothing in the last three years changed him. It was all the shit I put him through. He _died twice_ because of me (well, also because of Kek the second time). Now he's too desensitized to fear either of us.

Kek pushed his face an inch from Ryou. He growled and snarled like a dog, the old, violent, angry instincts overriding his logic.

Ryou poked Kek's nose. "You look like a Sunflora."

It was like Ryou found an off switch. One moment Kek looked like he was going to eat Ryou's face and the next he was blushing and scooping the cards up off of the floor.

"Shuffle your deck because I'm going to kick your ass this time."

Ryou smiled again. "That's more like it."

Well damn, had I known that a cheeseburger, a little flirting, and a Pokemon reference was all it took to chill Marik's alter ego the fuck out, then Battle City would have been a lot easier.

I didn't realize I fell asleep until the door slammed shut. I blinked, groggy.

"We bought you some clothes," Ryou said.

I nodded. I didn't like it. I couldn't pay him for the clothing, but at the time there was nothing I could do except curse the gods for being assholes. I pointed to Kek. "You actually took that bastard to the mall? How'd you manage to keep him from ripping someone's head off?"

Kek bristled at my comment. "I can't just kill people in public, dumb ass. Without Shadow Magic I'd get caught and sent to prison."

"I know, but I didn't think you gave a damn."

Kek frowned at his bags. "Go fuck yourself."

Ryou set his bags down. "Are you up for a card game? I need to cook dinner, but you can play Kek in my place."

Kek laughed. "He's not dumb enough to play against me. Not after our last game."

"I don't know, if Ryou beat you I'm sure I can manage."

"I won the two games after that."

"Yeah, but I won the last game, so we're tied," Ryou said.

I grabbed Ryou's deck. "Let's go, Sunflora."

Kek dropped the bags near the sofa and sat across from me with a snarl curling the corner of his mouth. Apparently, the nickname wasn't as cute when I used it.

Kek gave me the bird. "You go first, jackass."

The last time we dueled we stood on top of a blimp, darkness all around us, wind cutting into our faces, cold slipping through our clothing and numbing everything – including the throbbing stab wound I made in my arm for Marik. In Ryou's apartment light reflected off of our cards, the carpet felt soft and warm. The scar from the knife-wound marred Ryou's arm and not mine. I should have told the gods to fix that – transfer that scar to my body – it was mine not his. He could keep the one on his hand, though. Dirty, cheating, bastard – I won that game by all rights; he just fudged the numbers.

My mind refused to focus on the game. I needed to think, to shore the ruins of my mind with thoughts until I had some semblance of shelter within my own head, but my thoughts turned copper and amethyst as I ignored subscripts on cards. Kek used the special ability on one of his cards to fuck me over and I lost before I could get re-acquainted with my deck. I stared at the zero on my side of the score sheet, and it blurred with all the other games I'd lost, and the best emotional response I could muster was an _oh fucking well._ Just another game lost, I couldn't remember the last time I won a game.

"Hey." Kek snapped his fingers an inch from my face. I lifted my eyes up to his face and he frowned. "It's no fun trash talking if all you do is stare at the carpet. Say something, you bastard."

"Fuck off," I muttered, staring at the carpet again.

"Dammit, don't say it like that. That sounded pathetic."

I shrugged. I noticed that Kek had a different smell than Marik. Marik wore a smoky cologne with accents of oak. Kek didn't have cologne to wear, but he had a pleasant scent, musky not smoky, and that difference was the only kindness the gods ever gave me.

"Fuck it. That win didn't count. You're not taking me seriously and it's pissing me off."

Ryou walked into the room, balancing plates on his arm. "Everything pisses you off, Kek. Maybe you should try yoga."

"I can't pick a fight with you either. You'd just smile at me."

Ryou answered by smiling. Kek growled in return, but it sounded like pillow-play more than anger.

I took my plate. I wasn't hungry, but I knew if I didn't eat Ryou would fuss and I didn't want to deal with him. I made my best effort against the the plate of noodles, vegetables, and tofu.

"Well at least you're eating." Kek snorted. "I thought you were going to starve yourself like a love-sick bitch."

I frowned. "I will fucking stab you."

"You know," Ryou interrupted, "both of you need to find ways to solve your problems that don't involve games or stabbing people. You'll find there's a lot more to life that those two options."

"But I like both those things." Kek scooped noodles into his mouth, a little awkward with the chopsticks but capable.

It was almost unbearable to watch him act so human. He ate self-consciously, making sure sauce didn't dribble down his face. It reminded me of a habit Marik would have, but I never had a chance to see Marik in a casual environment, one without enemies.

I didn't have to feel much when my soul was bound to the Ring, but as I watched Kek eat, and as I thought of Marik, 3,000 years worth of shit hit me like a post traumatic nightmare. I missed my family. Gods, I wanted to see them again. It was over. The Items returned to the Shadows, the souls of my village freed at last to be judged, and I, too, was judged, and my _ib_ held its own against Ma'at's feather. I should have been in Aaru with my clan, yet the Pharaoh stole my chance to rest . . . but I'll always be known as the thief.

I jumped when Ryou took the plate from my hands, half of the food still on it. "I'll just wrap this up and put it in the fridge for later, okay?"

I nodded without looking at him, staring at the carpet. He grabbed me, pulling me into his chest. "I'm so sorry, Bakura. I'm so sorry they made you come back."

I trembled as the last vestiges of my emotional barriers prepared to crumble to dust. 3,000 years was too long to be strong, even for me. I pushed Ryou away.

"Don't," I choked on the single word, unable to say more.

Ryou released me and disappeared with my plate. When he returned, he held blankets and pillows.

"It's early, but maybe we should turn in. I imagine reincarnation is an exhausting experience."

"It kinda is." Kek's voice was thoughtful. "It's like . . . you can still feel your _ib_ ripped out and waiting to be weighed."

I looked at him because that's _exactly_ how I felt. Like Anubis ripped open my ribcage and weighed my heart, but forgot to close the hole in my chest before sending me back to life.

Ryou tossed a coin to Kek. "Flip it to see who gets the couch, okay? I'll see you both in the morning." He snatched one last, brief hug from me, then he attacked Kek with an embrace.

Kek gasped, shocked. Eyes wide, horrified circles of enameled purple. He'd probably never really been touched before today. It wasn't like Rishid or Ishizu would have hugged him. Ryou seemed to sense it. He allowed the embrace to last a little too long before pulling away. "Goodnight, Kek."

He made a noise instead of a reply, fingers twitching as if they wanted to hold Ryou in return but didn't quite dare to move on their own. Ryou vanished into the hallway and we were left staring at each other. For a long time we said nothing.

Kek's lips finally twitched in a pained smile. "Little bastard sure is crazy."

"You have no idea," I answered dryly.

"It must be nice . . . having an other half like that. Marik's a real asshole, right?"

I stared at the carpet.

"For what it's worth – which I know is nothing – I think it's bullshit that the gods forced you to come back with us. You should have gotten to pass on."

"Oh, but we can't have the thief going to Aaru and not their precious avatar."

"No shit. That's why I picked one of the Ogdoad for my namesake. The new gods are so pretentious."

He fiddled with his deck of Duel Monster cards, shuffling them to keep his hands busy. "I really don't understand why Marik didn't want to see you. I mean _I'm_ one thing, but . . ." He grew quiet. When he spoke again, his cheeks darkened and he whispered as if he didn't want to hear his own words. "Everything he repressed got shoved into my head, so . . . I, um, I know how he felt . . ."

I could neither cope with his words nor endure the gentleness in his tone – a gentleness Marik never used when he spoke. My heart hurt. A soft, stabbing pain shot from my chest to my limbs. My breathing sounded loud and shallow in my ears. I began to hyperventilate. I missed my family, and after hearing Kek's words I missed Marik even more. The memories of my family had faded over time, but Domino City was a fresh and bleeding wound in my chest. The words flew out of my mouth despite my efforts to hold them in. "I—I don't understand . . . I knew he used people and threw them away, but I didn't think he'd ever do that to _me._ "

Kek scooted closer until our faces almost touched. "He relied on you, but he wasn't using you, not like the others."

I clenched my hands into fists. "I can't do this. 3,000 years is too long. Ma'at lied. She lied. She said he'd come back, but he's not. The gods need to take me home. I don't . . . I can't . . ."

Struggling to breathe, I never noticed Kek bridge the gap between us. My eyes burned with tears that I _would not_ shed, but I felt his warm hands on each side of my face. Then his lips were wet against my mouth. His kiss was sloppy, and his mouth over extended mine a little. By the time he pulled back I could breathe again, but I felt dizzy and confused. The look on his face was more shocked than I imagined mine to be.

"Why the fuck did I just do that?" He tugged at the spikes of his hair, distressed. "I fucking _hate_ you. You're an asshole. Why? Why did I?" He scrambled back a few feet. "It's probably some stupid, suppressed echo from when I shared a head with Marik. Fuck him. Gods, I hate him."

I laughed. That was all there was to do. "Can you imagine how pissed Marik would be if he'd seen that? He's thrown us both to the wolves, but he's the type of jealous, possessive asshole that would fume at the thought of us getting cozy."

Kek looked at me and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. It'd almost be worth fooling around to piss him off. Y'know, to show the prick what he's missing out on."

I could only think about how much I hurt and how much I wanted to do something, anything, to make it stop. At least Kek's hands were warm and at that moment I was desperate for warmth. "Okay."

He shook his head. "Okay what?"

"Let's do it."

"Do what?" He stared at me, confused. He was still too puzzled over the kiss to catch my meaning.

I pulled off my crimson robe and crawled towards Kek. Revenge was all I really knew about living and I'd already proven that there was no limit to what I'd do to balance the scales.

Kek's throat clicked as he swallowed, his eyes bright as stars. "I . . . but . . . don't we hate each other?"

"Who do you hate more? Me or Marik?"

He snorted. "Marik."

"Well then let's go. Unless you're holding out for Ryou?"

"What?" he gasped, blushing.

Ha, actually blushing. Hilarious.

He shook his head as if to hide it. "No. Of course not. Fuck it." A sigh petered out from his lips and he looked at me. He shrugged and pulled the black tank top up over his disarray of yellow spikes, dropping the shirt to the floor. "Let's do this."

I finished crawling to him as he shifted out of his khakis. He pulled the wrap away from my waist and it slipped to the carpet. We knelt in front of each other. I stared at our knees. Kek's skin looked like garam marsala; my skin looked like the crust of fresh-baked, brown bread. Our hands each rested on our knees. We both stared at our fingers instead of each other. It was my stupid idea, but I wasn't really sure what to do.

Kek took initiative, shifting his hands from his knees to the top of my hands. The touch, the feel of skin against my skin, snapped me out of my trance. I looked up at him and I realized that his eyes were a shade darker than Marik's and he looked sick with terror. If Ammit appeared, her jaws the gate of oblivion, and lunged towards us – I had no doubt that Kek would meet her charge head on, laughing like a maniac and rejoicing in the strife of battle. But this _human connection_ was too unknown to him – to either of us – so we sat without moving for a long time.

Being strong meant your defenses were good enough _not_ to be touched; therefore, neither one of us knew what to do. I was a coward, at least Kek had to nerve to grab my hand. It was my stupid idea, I needed to implement it. With my free hand, I traced up his thigh. His breath hitched and a strange sense of excitement eddied through me at the sound. I'm used to my plans for revenge failing, and couldn't help but wonder if I would regret my actions in the morning. As my hand explored an experimental path up his brown, taut belly and chest, I vowed that – just like all my other failed plans – I would regret nothing.

His fingers brushed over my hands in a timid attempt to return my caresses. I leaned forward and he jerked back in reflex. My eyes looked up at him. His jaw set in a determined expression and he moved in for another soft, awkward kiss.

This wasn't what I expected. One would think two assholes like us would know how to go at it – growls and teeth and fingernails carving new scars into our backs. Fucking Marik's alter ego out of spite should have been a wild ride, but we were still learning how to kiss. We broke apart and wiped the spit from our mouths. When we pushed back together our lips lined up a little better. Gaining momentum, our hands wandered over each other's bodies. At first I avoided his back. It didn't seem like I should touch his scars, but Kek traced his fingers along my spine and after a while my fingers slipped across his shoulder blades. He didn't pull away, but a little moan snuck out of his mouth. The longer we kissed the bolder I felt until I was grabbing at his scars and sucking his lips like my existence depended on the ferocity of my actions.


	5. Kek

*****This is all I'm posting for right now, but I'll probably look over the next section and post it eventually to turn this into Rustshipping*****

* * *

I let myself hide in the feeling of our mouths. It felt good to take a break from thinking, to simply feel the comfort of another human body. I pulled away from Bakura when a thought entered my head. "How do we decide . . . you know. Who does what?"

Bakura frowned, thinking.

I remembered the coin Ryou gave me. I reached over to fetch it from my pocket. "Call it."

"Heads."

I flipped the coin. Bakura won. I clenched my teeth. Maybe I should have backed out while I had the chance. Bakura thought of some dumb plans, but this was stupid on an epic scale. Marik didn't care what we did. If he saw us it'd piss him off, but he was countries away and we were out of sight out of mind.

But something in me didn't want to stop.

I kissed him again.

Birthing required pain. Birth from a womb caused the mother pain. My birth came from Marik's pain. These re-births forced on us by the gods brought their own pain, but there was no one else to bear it with us, so we clung to each other.

"Be right back." Bakura pulled away and stood up. He walked towards the bathroom.

I watched him go. It was only the touch we needed, the warmth and closeness of another body, but I sure as hell wasn't going to suggest that we cuddled instead of fucked. Cuddling was worse than fucking – cuddling was emotional. At least we could pretend the sex was our immature revenge against Marik. We could pretend it didn't mean anything, that we were indifferent to the act.

Bakura returned with a bottle in his hand and a bemused look on his face. "There's a near empty box of condoms under his bathroom sink with this bottle of lube. Looks like my little host has grow up while I was away."

"I told you. He's Ryou." I ground my teeth. Not sure why, but it pissed me off when Bakura called him host, especially since Bakura still carried Ryou's name.

"Yes. Yes. Ryou. Habit's a bitch, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to hurry up and get this over with so I can go to sleep." I took the blankets and made a pallet. The floor was firm below my back. I watched Bakura pour lube on his hand.

"Should we use a condom?" I asked.

"Do you think you caught a disease in the eleven hours we've been alive?"

"Whatever, just get this over with." I wouldn't have been so nervous if I'd won the coin toss, but I didn't and my stomach was in knots.

A cold finger forced inside me and I bit the inside of my lip. _So what?_ I told myself. I endured the tomb keeper's initiation. This was just sex, nothing I couldn't handle.

He added another finger. "Does it feel . . ." he struggled for words. "Good?"

I didn't fucking know. It felt like his fingers were moving inside me. Marik never repressed pleasant emotions, so how was I supposed to know what good felt like? My greatest pleasure in life was always inflicting suffering on others.

An awful thought dawned on me.

" _Good" was how I felt when Ryou said goodnight and hugged me._

The thought sent a shiver down my spine that hooked into my groin. I closed my eyes, trying my damnedest not to get aroused by the thought of Ryou and to keep my mind anywhere else. Maybe Bakura was thinking about Marik, but that was different.

I didn't know why my fuckface, alternate self rejected Bakura, probably because he couldn't repress his shit into me anymore. Without me to protect him from his feelings, Marik wouldn't know how to handle his own emotions – especially his emotions towards Bakura.

But Ryou didn't feel about me the way Marik felt about Bakura, so I needed to stop thinking about him.

Even if the thought of kissing him caused Bakura's fingers in my ass to feel extraordinary.

But, still, no. I mean, I was a sick bastard, but even I had standards, and getting off on thoughts of the one person that ever treated me like a human was a line I wanted to stay away from. Instead, I forced myself into the moment and stared at Bakura. His body was sculpted like a statue of Anubis. I couldn't deny he was nice to look at with his platinum-white hair and gray eyes contrasting with skin a little darker than mine.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I grunted. He withdrew his fingers and covered his shaft and tip with lube, stroking the gel into his skin and working himself hard.

He and Marik had a weird sort of love for each other. Maybe not exactly a romantic love, but something deep and tempered by the very fires of Ra I rained down on them. I liked Ryou and Ryou was kind to me because he thought it'd keep me from becoming a mass murderer (he was probably right). But what did I feel about Bakura?

Companionship?

It was the only word I could think of. Odd as it was, fucking each other in an attempt to piss off Marik was going to make us friends. _Not_ that I'd ever use the word _friend_ out loud. I'd rather get my teeth pulled out with a wrench.

He entered and I gasped. I couldn't look at him anymore, so I turned my head and stared at Ryou's couch. He was going slow, breaking me in. The pain was mild, for me. I'd had much worse. He scooped in and up and I tried to keep my moan as quiet as possible so we didn't wake Ryou. Little grunts kept slipping out of his mouth. I didn't _want_ to admit they were sexy, but they were. My eyes snuck back over to his chest. I avoided his eyes and focused on the rest of him. His muscles stretched taut across his chest, and a nice layer of sweat coated his skin. Breathing hard, I could feel the pressure gathering in the lower half of my body. The whole experience was . . . much more pleasant than I thought it would be.

I lay there and let him rock into me, finding myself relaxing with each new thrust. I had just figured out what good felt like all over again. It wasn't the same as hugging, but they were both definitely good sensations.

Bakura's hand reached for my erection and when he squeezed I had to smother my face with one of the pillows so I didn't scream. The more he stroked and the more he moved, the more that pressure built below my belly. I wrapped my legs around his waist and used the pillow to muffle all the weak, stupid sounds I couldn't help but make. This was so much nicer than I thought it'd be. All I could think was, _Oh shit . . . oh shit_. I never realized a body could feel so damn good. I laid there and tried to process (enjoy) everything happening, until the pressure in my loins reached a peak and I couldn't think anymore. I shivered as semen splattered onto my belly.

Bakura sighed as I finished. He let go of me and grabbed my legs, moving faster. I removed the pillow, the need for air overwhelming my need to hide. I tried to look at the couch again, but curiosity dragged my eyes towards Bakura. He made his own stupid, little noises and squeezed his eyes shut. Something seemed to break inside him and he leaned against my chest. His thrusts were savage and desperate as he coiled both his arms around my neck. The moment was so primal and raw that I found myself hooking my own arms around his back and gasping with him until I felt his warmth spilling into me as he climaxed.

We held each other a moment until both our heart rates slowed. Marik was an idiot. If he wasn't such a coward this moment would have been his. Bakura _should_ be his – even I knew that and I was just a stupid shadow born from pain. I listened to his breathing as he fell asleep in my arms.

Once I delighted in seeing people weep and suffer, but I figured out since returning that I enjoyed suffering because I didn't have anything to compare it to. Today, when Ryou walked into Yugi's house and smiled at me like I was any other person, it was like dragging a toy mouse in front of a cat. I had to chase that feeling, being human. I had to pounce on it.

I caressed Bakura's back and hair. He slept, so I didn't have to worry about being teased for being sentimental. Marik forfeited this night just like he forfeited his game against the Pharaoh, but I was going to savor it like the greedy, selfish bastard I was.

When I found myself in Yugi's living room I wanted nothing else but to think. To decide who I was since I was no longer Marik. Laying in Ryou's living room – in Bakura's arms – I decided I wanted to try to have a normal life. I wanted to be human.

* * *

 *****End Part 1*****


	6. Ryou 2

I really didn't know what to expect when I walked into the living-room. My mind conjured the image of my sofa cleaved in two and each of them passed out on their own half with a stubborn look on their sleeping faces. The reality was far more strange than my fantasy. They cuddled together like two huge, brown kittens. I stood and blinked at them. Shocked. Completely shocked.

I try to be a good person. I tried to be like Yugi, but in the end, I know why I had the Ring, why I harbored the thief and not the king. A good person would leave them alone; sneak out quietly, go to work a little early, pick up breakfast on the way, and never mention what they saw. That's what Yugi would do.

But I'm not Yugi.

And what would Ryou Bakura do?

I grabbed my cell phone and snapped three pictures.

Ha, use me as a pincushion during Monster World.

How did I like the feel of polycarbonate plastic in my hand? Well, Bakura, not as much as you'll like these pictures, you cuddly slut.

Then a better idea popped into my head. Video. I snuck close to them and hit record on my phone. I watched them a moment, naked, only covered by their blanket. Their hair was a tousled mess, especially Kek's, and I realized too late how arousing it was to watch them sleep, beautiful, naked, and strangely peaceful in each other's arms. Nothing would have made me happier than to take off my clothes and snuggle between them. Instead, I shook Bakura's shoulder.

"Hey Bakura, you going to wake up or just be the little spoon all morning?"

Bakura swatted my hand away like a playful kitten and mumbled, "let me sleep another hour, Ryou. Then I swear we can play Monster World all you want."

Naked men and Monster World? All I had to do was quit my job – at least call in sick – but I couldn't kid myself, I was too reliable to do either of those things. Bakura rolled over and stole the blanket, leaving Kek exposed for my feasting eyes and video-recording cell phone.

"Bastard." Kek tugged at the cover, hooking Bakura back against his chest.

The motion woke Bakura. "Where?" His question died as he looked at Kek and then around the room to re-orient himself. He made an angry, grunting sound and sat up, grabbing his waist-wrap and tying it around his midsection before moving the blanket and standing. He noticed me. "That's not fair, Ryou. Our heads were messed up last night from being thrown into physical bodies. Delete that damn video if you don't want your phone tossed out the window."

"It's not fair," I echoed, still recording. "Yeah, life is pretty unfair. You taught me that, you know. I'll delete it before I go to work."

It was okay to lie if it was to Bakura, right?

Seemed okay to me. I was going to make nineteen copies before I deleted the video from my phone. He wouldn't be able to find them all.

He snorted and grinned. "Didn't take you for a voyeur."

"That's funny because I didn't take you for a cuddle-bunny."

"I told you, I wasn't myself last night."

"Nice excuse."

In his sleep, Kek kicked a foot out and it tripped me. My thumb accidentally hit the stop button, but I hung onto the phone as I tumbled to the ground beside Kek. With Bakura gone, Kek grabbed me in his place, nuzzling against my throat and hair.

Bakura used the pad of his foot to shake the top of Kek's head. "Wake-up, you idiot, and quit molesting my host." Bakura walked off to the kitchen.

And all I could think was, No, no. Please most certainly continue molesting his host. His host is extremely okay with this.

I giggled at my own stupid thoughts. Kek had the body of a god and I delighted in the way he pressed me against his chest.

"Asshole, his name's Ryou," Kek muttered to a Bakura that was already gone. The act of speaking woke him. He blinked his eyes open and saw me. "Ryou?"

I laughed harder and I couldn't stop. He realized he imprisoned me in a bear-hug and jerked back. Only, I was laying on top of the blanket so when he moved the blanket didn't move with him, leaving him naked for a second time.

Yup, body of a god. Good thing he named himself after one.

I stood up as fast as I could so he could reclaim the cover. The slight coral on his cheeks showed his embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry." He refused to look at me and I hated it.

"It's no big deal."

"We probably shouldn't have, but last night, everything was … raw ... and, I don't know ..." he shook his head, incapable of articulating what he felt.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, really. This is better than you fighting and trying to kill each other."

"It's just, last night, and he was sad. And we were joking about how it'd piss off Marik. But then we did it. And I knew it was stupid. But I did it anyway. I couldn't help myself. It made me feel . . ." he swallowed and ran his fingers through his chaos of hair. "Like a person."

The last part made my soul hurt.

"You are a person."

I grabbed him in another hug. I could smell them both and the night before on his skin. It was wonderful, and my cheeks burned at the thought of it – although I was trying my best not to think about it. I was kinda jealous of Bakura. He would be the type to just say "hey, let's have sex," and then get it. I couldn't work that fast. I needed to know a person, flirt, get some sort of mental connection before I could gather enough confidence to unzip my jeans.

I tried imagining myself acting more like Bakura, accidentally catching them last night and smirking and asking "would this happen to be a three player game?" Holding Kek like I was, it was too easy to imagine the way his body could move beneath me, or on top of me, or in front of me while Bakura was behind me. Shit. Shit. Shit. I needed to think of anything else.

The whole idea was stupid anyway. Yugi already thought I'd lost my mind because I was letting them stay here. I couldn't imagine the look on his face if he knew I was even thinking about sleeping with either of them – both of them at once. It may have seemed weird to anyone else, but Bakura and I shared my body for a long time. There was an intimacy in that. It would be easy to sleep with Bakura because of that.

Sleeping with them was the best-worst idea ever and once it was in my head, it didn't want to go away. Besides, it would serve Yugi right if I did sleep with them both at once – my own revenge on Yugi for everything that happened last year. Then again, with Atem back I doubt Yugi would care who I slept with, so it'd be poor revenge.

Oh gods, I was as bad as them. Wasn't that the excuse they used? Hey, let's piss of Marik and sleep together. Maybe that's how I could get them in bed – convince them it'd somehow piss off Atem.

I kept waiting for my brain to interrupt my thoughts and remind me that both Kek and Bakura did horrible things and that I shouldn't want to get into their pants, but my brain never came to my rescue. If anything it plotted against me by imagining what they looked like the night before, dark bodies and pale hair and legs twisted together.

Stop thinking. Stop thinking. Stop thinking.

It was hard to remember who they were three years ago. The stink of Shadow magic and blood didn't cling to them anymore. It was like a curse was on them and the gods broke it when they sent them back – the frogs were now princes. The princes were still jerks, but they were funny, sexy jerks who acted tough but were really teddy bears under their tough-guy surface so I wanted to sleep with them anyway.

Kek squirmed in my arms. "I-I, um, I need a shower."

Not half as bad as I do. A freezing cold shower.

I kept him in my arms. It was selfish by that point. I'd meant to comfort him, but it somehow became an excuse to touch him. "Sure. I'll make breakfast while you shower. Do you like omelets?"

"I don't know. I've never had them." His cheek was warm against my ear as he whispered. "I'm sure I'll like anything you cook."

I smiled and poked his ribs. It made him squirm harder. My Kek was ticklish. I let him go and walked into the kitchen, a hot, flushed mess and a bundle of inappropriate thoughts. Bakura sat at the table, eating his dinner leftovers and typing on my laptop. I walked past him and headed to the fridge. I grabbed a chopstick I kept separate from the others for my hair and twisted my white strands into a knot. With my face flushed, the air on my neck felt pleasant.

I glanced over my shoulder. "Bakura, please don't do anything illegal on my computer."

"I promise not to do anything too illegal until I get my own computer."

I sighed. "Bakura, I'm not letting you stay here so you can go back to being a thief."

"No. You're letting us stay here until we figure out what we want from our new lives and how to obtain what we want. Well, there's only one thing I want and I have a plan on how to get it, but in the meantime, Kek and I need birth certificates, I.D.'s, passports, immunization records, and work visas. I can't get those things legally."

My mouth dropped open. I never thought about documents that would prove that they existed before yesterday. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

He turned away from the screen and looked at me. "Look, about last night . . . that was my fault, so don't blame him. Just say so and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

I mussed his hair because I knew it'd make him angry. "Awww, you made a friend."

"Fuck you, Ryou."

"Only if Kek gets to join in."

I wasn't sure why I said it. I mean, I knew why it was the first thing that came to mind, but I often didn't say the first thing that came to mind. I wasn't a bold person, but Virgos don't have filters and the joke about Kek slipped out before I could censor myself. I turned back to our breakfast and held my breath, praying to the gods that he didn't hear me.

A pause stretched between us and I thought myself safe until Bakura's dark, sardonic laughter broke the silence. "You were being serious."

"Of course not. I was joking."

"Oh, I don't think so."

"Come on. You guys are facetious assholes all the time. I can't make one snarky comeback?"

He stood up and walked behind me. I felt his arms around my waist as he pulled me into his chest. I gripped the counter, my knuckles bone white. I breathed hard through my mouth as I waited to see what he'd do. Disappointment washed over me when Bakura pressed his lips to my ear and asked, "did you erase that video?"

I made a noise that could have meant 'yes', 'no', or 'please hold me tighter,' depending on how Bakura wanted to interpret it. He stepped away and I frowned when I saw my phone in his hand. I never noticed him stealing it. He played my video, smiling as he watched himself. He tossed the phone back to me.

"Yeah, I can't say that I blame you. We're fucking hot, aren't we? At least the gods got that part right."

"Be quiet." My face was scarlet; I could feel it. I'd been riled up before and Bakura grabbing me was a little too much for me to deal with. I could have thrown him on the table at that moment, tossed that stupid waist-wrap to the floor, and changed that confident smirk on his face to a much prettier expression, but I had to go to work. Damn work. Why was I responsible? I didn't want to be a functional member of society.

"But I'm right, aren't I? Admit it, Ryou. Don't we tempt you even a little bit?"

I grabbed two onions and slammed them on the counter. "Well, I'm not blind."

He chuckled again. "It might be fun staying here for a bit after all."

"Gods, I hate you."

"Oh, okay, too bad then. Well, if you're not interested, mind if I borrow the condoms under your bathroom sink?"

"They're expired." I began chopping the onions, unable to hide the bitter undertone in my voice. They probably weren't, but it felt like it'd been that long ago.

"That's a shame, because I kinda wanted to add a third member to my party, and you're uninterested, so I thought maybe I should go out tonight and hunt around, you know?"

With that I started laughing, and the sound was significantly more bitter than my voice had been. I knew he was teasing me, but I responded nonetheless. "Oh please, you couldn't handle the Domino gay scene. They'd eat you alive and spit out the bones."

Bakura snorted, his arm draped over the back of his chair. "You survived. I'm sure I'd manage."

I frowned. He thought I was joking. "Bakura, I know you're teasing me, but please, if you ever do anything like that . . . be careful, okay?"

He considered me for a moment and then reflected my frown back at me. "I was teasing about going out, if that's what you meant, but I wasn't teasing you ."

I stared at him, trying to think of how to respond to his words. Was he really trying to include me? It seemed like some sort of sneaky Bakura-thief trap.

"I mean . . ." He looked away, an uncharacteristic expression on his face that I couldn't quite place. "I mean . . ."

"What do you mean, Bakura?"

He started laughing. "I don't know what I mean. I told you . Kek and I are all loopy from coming back. I feel . . ." he shook his head. "You know, you could, but whatever. You know where we sleep."

I sighed and went back to making breakfast.

When Kek entered the kitchen, Bakura was typing again and I was sniffling and teary from chopping onions.

Without words, Kek rinsed a dish cloth with cold water and rang out the excess, pressing the cloth against my eyes. "Here, this is what Ishizu did when the onions made her cry."

I smiled, blind. "Thanks, Kek. That's sweet."

"I – it's nothing. I – um, I'm probably in your way." He ran to the nearest chair and sat down, staring at the table.

I dropped the onions into the hot wok. They hissed and sizzled, filling the room with the pungent smell. The sounds of chopping and sizzling filled the kitchen as I worked. When I had to fold the omelette I nearly had a panic attack. I wanted them to have a good breakfast, but I was afraid of ruining it. Somehow I pulled off getting all three in the shape I wanted them and set the three plates on the table.

The atmosphere had that next-day-awkward vibe that sometimes happens when you wake up hungover in your best friend's bed. Bakura continued typing on my computer, and Kek stared at his plate. I forced myself to eat, I was going to be late for work but I didn't care anymore. It was supposed to be my day off, those jerks are lucky I covered for them all the time.

Kek stood up and put his plate in the fridge. "Excuse me. I need some fresh air."

I watched him leave. He wore one of the new outfits we bought yesterday, jeans and a black t-shirt. I sighed and turned to Bakura. "I have to go to work."

I trudged out the door. No more overtime; I was stressed out of my mind. I texted Yugi to let him know I wasn't ax-murdered in my sleep. I wanted to send him one of the pictures I took that morning to prove my point, but that would be mean, so I stared at them and smiled as I walked to the craft store. Yugi never replied, which was odd, so I texted him one more time. My dysfunctional brain daydreamed about Atem ax-murdering Yugi in his sleep. Plot twist, no one saw it coming, the Pharaoh snapped and slew my best friend while his enemies kanoodled in my living room.

Ammit will devour me when I die for being so twisted.

I saw the craft store a block away. I should have loved my job. I loved everything we sold and I thought the discount would be cool, but dealing with people all day long exhausted me. The second hand dragged zombie-slow on my watch as I waited for my shift to end. Every angry old woman in Domino City wanted yarn – a softer, brighter, different colored yarn that what we (or anyone else on the planet) sold. I helped them as best I could, smiling, smiling, smiling, but the frowns never left their faces as they complained. One lady got mad because we didn't have enough dress patterns, another because we didn't have the fabric she'd bought five years ago, another thought I should be ashamed of myself because the store was out of J-hooks in the crochet section. I apologized and kept a smile on my face too big for words. Out of all the things I should have been ashamed of – the J-hooks never made it to my personal list. Even after I checked in the back twice (although I explained the first time that there wouldn't be anything in our bays that wasn't already on display), she still stared at me. It was like she expected me to conquer J-hooks from the Shadow Realm. I would have tried, if I didn't know for a certainty that the Shadow Realm was also fresh out of crochet needles. The store across town never ran out, ever – she told me so five times – and they had twice as many colors of yarn to chose from. Of course they did. That's why she was shopping here instead, naturally.

I smiled and apologized and wondered when she was going to leave. It took all my will not to scream, "listen lady, I know I look cute and adorable with this smile on my face, but I'm the kind of sick, demented pervert that lusts after evil spirits, so please hurry and choose between the peony, salmon, or frosting pink yarn so I can go home and play Monster World."

And all that was before my lunch break.


	7. Kek 2

I didn't know where I was going. One foot followed the other and if my right foot stepped over one line in the sidewalk, my left foot had to step over the next line. I didn't know why, something in my brain compelled me to follow the pattern I'd set or it'd piss me off and I'd want to lash out, so I stepped-stepped-line with my right foot, and then I stepped-stepped-line with my left foot. I stepped-stepped-lined myself across Domino City, strangely calm as long as I could follow my own little pattern and I didn't have to look at anyone else.

I didn't mind the people on the sidewalks and in the stores. I just wanted them to stay away from me. I heard them talking on their cell phones while kids screamed and played. Sparrows groomed themselves on elm branches or sang. I liked the birds much more than the people because I knew they'd leave me alone. I never had a chance to go on a walk before, never had legs of my own to stroll across pavement, or run through grass, or stomp in mud. Would that have made a difference? Would I have killed people if Marik had played outside as a child? Then I realized the answer was no- I wouldn't have hurt anyone because I wouldn't have existed.

Suddenly, I felt sorry for Marik – for all the pain we both shared – and I hated the feeling. Empathy for Bakura was bad enough, but Marik? I'd rather get a second initiation carved into my chest than identify with my other half, but when did the gods ever give a damn about what I wanted?

Two men argued ahead of me. Their conversation invaded my thoughts.

"Dammit, Ichenu, I already have the fight booked. What am I supposed to do?"

"Sorry boss. She said if I didn't quit today then she's gone."

"But isn't that why you're fighting? To buy her a ring?"

"Ring won't do any good without a finger to put it on. See ya later, boss." The younger man walked away, leaving the older man by himself.

The older man kicked at the pavement. "Dammit."

I walked past him and he grabbed my shoulder. My instinct was to snap his neck. I held my breath and forced my hand to stay at my sides, waiting to see what he wanted before I decided how to deal with him.

"Hey buddy, you look strong, want to make some money?"

I did want a job. I couldn't free-load off of Ryou for the rest of my life.

"Not if it's illegal," I said. I didn't really care if it was illegal or not, but I thought Ryou would be sad if I got into trouble, and I'd much rather make him happy. In fact, I had the oddest urge to do damn near anything to make him happy.

The man in front of me grinned. His wore his gray-streaked, shiny black hair pulled back into a ponytail and had both a goatee and a mustache. He reminded me of a fox.

"No, no, don't worry," he said. "Nothing like that. I have a fight booked in two months, a boxing match. It's legit, not one of those shady street fights in a back alley somewhere. That guy that just left was my fighter and he turned tail on me. Whaddya say?"

Was this guy crazy? He was just going to pull a stranger off the streets and ask if he wanted to fight? Even I never grabbed random victims off the street to Duel against. Everyone I killed challenged me. Well, there was that one medic in Rishid's room, but he was in my way so he didn't count.

I frowned at him. "I have anger management problems. Boxing probably isn't for me."

"Boxing is perfect for you. It'll teach you discipline and give you an outlet."

I tilted my head to the side. "Maybe it would, but two months is a long time to wait for a paycheck. I need a regular job."

He growled, frustrated, and looked back up at me. "Look. How 'bout this, come to the gym and clean it up in the mornings, help me train the other boxers in the afternoon, and I'll pay you for the work. It won't be a lot of money, but if you want more you can always take extra fights – there's good money in that."

I shrugged. "Why the hell not? I'll do it."

He looked as surprised at my answer as I felt. "Really? Great. C'mon, let's get you into some gear and see what I have to work with."

He grabbed my hand and dragged me into the building behind him. "Not that I don't have faith in you, but two months really isn't enough time to train for a bout, so I don't expect you to win, but hopefully we'll give them a good show."

I looked around. Free weights and squat racks filled half the room. The other half held several bags and fighting dummies and a boxing ring with red, blue, and white ropes strung around it. He wrapped my hands and gave me gloves and a pair of sweatpants with his facility's logo printed up the side (a fox icon and GYM spelled in a large, block print).

The tomb keepers were created to protect the Pharaoh's tomb and his secrets with our lives. Clan-created martial arts were part of our culture, so I already knew the basics. Don't waste your movements, body turned, the force of the blows comes from the power in your hips, and never take your eyes away from the enemy. Read him. Predict his moves. Counter. Attack when the opportunity appears. After twenty minutes we stopped.

The older man grinned. "Yes. Hell yes, maybe you do stand a chance. It's like you were sent here by the gods."

He had no idea.

"Okay, let's give you some mitts."

We took off the gloves and he handed me some round pads with straps on the back to hold. I shrugged and hooked my hands into the holdings at looked at the crazy old man – who still grinned like everything in the world, even the worst of it, was amusing to him.

He nodded when I had the mitts equipped. "I just want to make sure you hold them correctly. When we're practicing with the other fighters as part of your regular job, you'll want to make sure you hold them loose and relaxed. If you're too tight for two hours worth of practice, then you're going to hurt yourself and I'm boned when our fight comes up."

Our fight. What an asshole. He wasn't going to be in the ring with me.

He punched the pads and I had to stand there and hold them up to give him a target. I didn't like holding the mitts. He jabbed and hooked at them – at me – and I wanted to counter. I needed to fight back – to punch, to kick, to do anything but stand there. I didn't trust him not to hit me.

Fuck! I couldn't do it!

I couldn't stand there and do nothing.

"Hey, calm down." He stopped and patted my arms and shoulders with his gloved hands. I was so lost in my own mind that I didn't register the touch as he tried to correct my form. He chatted in my ear while everything spun around me in whorls.

"This is what I'm talking about. You're going to get hurt if you're that tense. Let's try again."

He snapped a few light jabs into the pads. Each one grated on my nerves until a left cross broke my resolve and I slapped him with the mitt in my right hand.

"What the fuck?" He swiped the back of his arm across his nostrils and stared at the thin streak of blood.

"Fuck this . . ." I shook my head. "Fuck it. I can't." Part of me demanded I stay calm and act 'normal', that's what I wanted to do, I was trying to be human now, and I knew I was fucking up, but panic clenched my lungs in a vice and every instinct in my psyche shrieked for me to either punch him or run. It didn't matter which. I just needed to move, to act, to do.

Anything, do anything, just don't stand there while he walks towards you with a knife!

And for a second I wasn't sure if I were nineteen or ten, if I were Kek or Marik. I looked up at the older guy. The same age, they looked the same age, only this geezer's hair was black – black, not sunny like mine, black – he wasn't, he wasn't, he wasn't the same . . .

He wasn't grinning anymore. His face had dropped into a neutral line. "The mitts are the target."

"I don't care. It looks like you're going to hit me." I heard my voice and my breath, but they felt far away. My mind tried to push it all away, a defect inherited from Marik. I wanted to quit, but at the same time I didn't. I wanted to hold the stupid, fucking mitts – if for no other reason than because I knew Marik would quit, so I couldn't.

The line dropped down into a frown. He studied me. "You didn't mind getting hit when we sparred."

"I could hit you back then," I growled at the floor, my jaw ached from grinding my teeth.

His grin slipped back onto his face as he rested his gloved hands on his hips. "At least now we know what to practice." He gestured with his gloves. "C'mon. Mitts up."

"I think I'm done for today."

I wanted get through my second day in my own body without committing homicide.

"Like hell you are. This is on the clock job training. Get those mitts up because you're not done 'till two o' clock when Ichenu's session would have been over."

"Whatever. Your funeral, old man." I held the mitts in front of me, but I'd already made up my mind to hit the prick upside the head at his first punch.

"Breath."

"What?"

"Breath."

"I am fucking breathing."

"No, you're holding your breath. I can see the veins in your forehead and neck. Your blood pressure is high and I bet you can feel the cortisol drowning your brain right now. Fight or flight, right? But you're no runner, oh no." He shook his head, gesturing with his gloves again. "You want to punch me right now. I can see it. You're a fighter."

I smirked. "Isn't that what you wanted? A fighter?"

His grin got big. I didn't think it could get any bigger, but there it was, stretched across his face like we were pals. He tapped his temple. "The hardest part of fighting is this. Right now you have no control. You're too weak."

"I'm not weak."

"Biceps don't make you strong." He tapped his head again.

I was pissed. I held the mitts up for him, focused on my breath, and relaxed my arms. Just to fucking show him. I was going to show him I wasn't weak and then I was going to burn his gym to the ground.

He nodded. His grin vanished and his expression grew serious. "Good. Let's see how strong you really are."

He barraged me with blows three times more aggressive than before. I admired his skill, but could only tolerate fists in my face for a few minutes before my control snapped. I clocked him upside the head. He went down easy as dropping a rock to the dirt.

He held the side of his head. "Christ, kid."

I pulled the mitts off my hands and threw them at his head. "I quit."

"Like a bitch?" He pushed himself up to stare me in the face.

I stared back at him. His eyes were dark brown, like Ryou's, but his complexion was muddy and deep-

set lines sank into the edged of his mouth and eyes.

"Fuck you." I turned to leave.

He jumped into my way. "Yeah, a bitch. But if you ever want to be a man instead of a bitch then you know where I am."

Yeah, I knew where he was, and I knew where he was about to be if he didn't get out of my face – a shallow grave. My hands twitched. I reached for the Rod on reflex. When my fingers brushed over my sweat pants instead of gold I clenched my hand into a fist. I marched up to him, wishing I had a switchblade, but there were kettlebells and elastic bands and, hell, I could drag him to the urinal and bash his brains against the porcelain. That'd be classy.

He wasn't afraid; he didn't understand yet. "You did better than I thought you would, actually. I think we're done with the mitts for today."

"You're damn, fucking straight we're done." I grinned, my right eye twitched.

"Time for speed and agility drills."

I laughed. How could I not? He stood there and looked at me like it was another day at his gym. He should have known something was wrong. He should have cowered away. He should have begged for me to leave. That's what happened when I got angry. People felt it and they backed down, but the old man was senile or something and unlaced his gloves like he'd live long enough to take them off his hands.

I leaned forward a bit. "I'm going to kill you now. You should run."

I stood and waited for him to bolt. I didn't know why I warned him or gave him a chance to escape. Perhaps because I really did want to be human. I tried so hard to hold those mitts, but all it managed to do was make me angry enough to singe my vision with a black border. I really wanted to be human, but something in me worried that I was just Marik's shadow and would be forever. It was better for me to kill someone now and let the police throw me in jail, before I ruined Ryou, hell, before I ruined Bakura. His Ib balanced on the scale. I'd only drag him down with. How much time could he spend with me before I destroyed any chance he'd ever have at seeing his family and village again?

The old geezer smiled at me. The expression was warm and genuine like Ryou's smile (although his smile didn't make my heart dance in my ribcage like Ryou's smile always did); however, his smile did make it hard for me to strangle him. It was odd, but I really respected the old man. He didn't look at me like I was a monster, nor was he afraid. I wondered what he saw, when he smiled at me. His face was almost nostalgic. He pointed to the mat below us.

"We'll start with burpees. I'll demonstrate." He dropped to the floor, kicked back his feet, did a push-up, and jumped back to his feet to finish with a jumping jack. He repeated the action and I watched him, dumbfounded.

I was going to kill him and he acted like it was no big deal.

He couldn't be that oblivious . . . why the hell . . .

"Well? I ain't doing this to get younger. C'mon kid, burpees."

I had to make a decision – kill him or do what he said. In a way, he was gifting me with a second chance to try my hand at humanity. I couldn't even remember why I was so pissed off. Yeah, the blows bothered me and I didn't want to stand still, but maybe I had acted like a bitch about it?

Shit. Maybe I was weak.

Something in my chest wanted to fight my weaknesses.

I copied him, doing burpee after burpee after burpee. He went to the edge of the ring and hit a timer. After 30 seconds the machine beeped and we did squats and then we repeated the series. After a few minutes we switched to lunges and jumping jacks, then burpees and mountain climbers. He never stopped except for a single minute when he grabbed towels and water bottles for us to use. Finally, he made me hold plank until my arms shook.

"So . . ." he sat on the mat. I still held plank. The timer beeped after each 30 seconds, but he didn't tell me to stop so I ignored my arms and blinked sweat out of my eyes. He took a sip of water. "Was it your old man?"

"What?" I faltered but managed to keep from falling. I hadn't expected the question.

"Someone used to hit you, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten so pissed off when you had to stand there without being able to defend yourself."

I stared at the mat. "Doesn't matter. He's dead."

"Y'know, lots of fighters train here, and they all have a story like that, but I haven't seen anyone as angry as you since . . ." he broke off to chuckle. "Well, since I was sixteen."

I swallowed. My arms were wobbling hard, but I made them stay lifted. I didn't want to be weak.

He took another sip of water. "Y'know, you have two options. Control your mind or be controlled by your mind."

Again, he had no fucking idea.

My left elbow hit the mat. I grunted, trying to push myself back up but there was nothing left for me to give. My arms collapsed as soon as I put my body weight back on them.

He grinned. "Muscle failure. Good job. We're done."

I wasn't sure how I made it to the locker room. My arms and legs shook. When I was back in denim I saw him standing near the cash register. He looked up at me. "I forgot to ask, what's your name, kid?"

"Kek."

"Kek?"

I nodded. "What's your name, old man?"

"Kyubi." He handed me some cash. "Nine o'clock tomorrow?"

I stuffed the money in my pocket. Shit, I liked this guy. He gave absolutely zero fucks.

"You . . . still want me to work for you?"

"Are you kidding? I haven't had this much fun training in years."

Well, If he was dumb enough to put up with me, then why should I argue? "Yeah, nine."

As I walked out the door a strange excitement overtook me. I wanted to tell Ryou I got a job. I got a job and I somehow managed not to fuck it up, although I came close. And I didn't kill the old man – I was angry and I didn't kill him – maybe I was more than a shadow, and maybe I wouldn't destroy everything I touched.


	8. Bakura 2

I had Monster World set up in the living room before either of them got home – my peace offering to Ryou to make up for the strange morning. I modified a campaign I found online about the undead. Zombies would keep both those morons interested. They were such a pair.

It was weird . . . Ryou really through me for a loop that morning. I hadn't expected him to suggest . . . but what I really hadn't expected was how much the idea appealed to me. I mean, we had an auto-erotic truce back in the day. Sometimes in the shower, or his bed when it was late at night – well, bodies had urges, especially the bodies of teenage males. But we never talked about it with each other. We just did it. Huh, I wonder if he still kept dirty comics in his sock drawer? I wouldn't mind re-reading a few of them.

I also wouldn't mind getting Kek back between the sheets. I thought the night before would end up weird, but it was . . . comforting, and the thought of adding Ryou only made it more comforting.

Kek walked through the door first, dark patterns from sweat decorated his t-shirt and his hair was a disaster even for him.

I cocked my head to the side as I studied him. "Where the hell have you been all day? You're a mess."

He grinned, the expression was oddly amicable and I'm taken back by how handsome it made his face. Marik never smiled like that and it was a damn shame.

"I got a job," he said.

I shook myself out of my daydreams and raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

"At a gym. It's just a go-for job for now, but . . . don't tell Ryou, but in two months I'm going to have a match. I'll make more money that way."

"A match? Are you hustling Duel Monster games?"

He shook his head. "No, a boxing match."

"Ah, I see. Yeah, probably better if Ryou didn't know about that." I snorted and decided to tease him. "Try not to kill anyone."

Kek exhaled a mournful sigh. He dropped to the sofa, his shoulders hunched over. "I almost killed my boss today. I reached for the Rod and when it wasn't there I was going to throttle him."

I sat beside Kek. Our shoulders brushed together and normally I'd hate the contact, but it'd be stupid to worry about sitting next to him after I already slept with him. "What happened?"

"The training . . . I got pissed off. The only reason I was able to talk myself out of killing him was because he gave absolutely no fucks. No matter how angry I got, he didn't care." He shrugged, a single laugh popped out of his vocal cords. "It's hard to stay pissed at someone like that."

"And what happens tomorrow when you get pissed off again?" I asked.

"Probably burpees."

"What?"

His lips curled up in a wolfish grin. "Never mind."

I nudged him with my shoulder. "I got a job, too. You'll never guess where."

"The Moto Game Shop?"

"Fuck no. I'd rather die than work there."

Ryou walked in, looking haggard. "Hey." He leaned against the door for a moment and sighed. His hair tousled around his face in a white mess, but since it was Ryou he managed to make stressed and tired look gorgeous.

"We have jobs," Kek announced.

Ryou looked confused. "Jobs?"

"Yeah, jobs. We can't mooch off for you forever."

"True, but . . . you guys did just come back from the dead. I'd understand if you took a few weeks to adjust before you worried about jobs."

"Fuck that, I want to buy my own stuff next time. Besides, I'm just going to be helping out at the Kyubi Gym. It's not like I'm working in a coal mine."

"Oh, I've seen that gym. It's on the way to the craft store." Ryou walked over to us and sat on the carpet, looking up. "What kind of job did you get, Bakura?"

I smirked. "Chief Executive of Internet Security for Kaiba Corp."

Kek arched his eyebrows and Ryou's mouth dropped open. The later of the two asked, "how'd you get a job like that?"

"It was fun, actually. I hacked into his system, staged a fire drill, and then I got on his Skype account and asked him if he wanted to hire something who knew what the fuck they were doing. Then we negotiated salary."

"Who's dumb enough to hire a thief for security?" Kek shook his head.

Ryou shrugged. "It's brilliant, really. Who knows security better than a thief?"

"Exactly." I gestured to the corner of the room where I had the Monster World board set up for play. "I thought tonight would be a good night to start a campaign."

Ryou's face beamed when he noticed the board. "Okay. I think I'll order sushi for dinner. We should celebrate you both getting jobs."

"First I need a shower." Kek stood and tried to peel the damp t-shirt away from his shoulders. He hissed at the movement and the cloth dropped back over his body.

Ryou stood up. "What's wrong?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Nothing. I'm just sore. Guess I better get used to it."

Ryou smiled. "Here, let me help you."

Ryou reached out for Kek's shirt. Kek stepped back. He looked away, bashful as ever around Ryou. "No, it's okay, I got it. I'm a sweaty mess."

Ryou stepped up to him and grabbed the hem of his shirt. "Don't be silly. I don't care if you're sweaty or not."

He pulled the shirt off of Kek and I noticed how Kek blushed and how Ryou's eyes dilated as he stared at Kek's naked top-half. Too bad Kek was looking away or he might have noticed it as well. Ryou blushed as if just aware that he ogled Kek with his gaze. He handed Kek his shirt back. "Here you go."

Kek snatched the material without looking. "Thanks."

"You know where the towels are?"

"Yeah, I found them this morning."

"Oh . . . okay, good. I guess I should order the sushi now."

I snickered. "I bet his legs are sore as well. You should help him out of his pants next, Ryou."

"I'm not three. I can undress myself." Kek stormed down the hall towards the bathroom.

Ryou stabbed me with a dark look. I shrugged. "What? I was trying to help you out. That little exchange between you two was so awkward that it hurt to watch. Gods, just hurry up and get on with it."

Ryou stared at the carpet. "I'm not like you. I can't just take everything I want."

"You are giving me far too much credit." I looked at him. "I wasn't any smoother last night when I bedded him. If that makes you feel any better. We were very awkward – but you didn't hear it from me."

I can still see our hands on our knees as we knelt like a mirror image of each other, gawky and newly resurrected. It surprised me, when a shiver ran through my core from the memory.

Damn .

I still didn't want to admit it, the impact the night before had. I stared back up at Ryou, my eyes begged for him to understand that just this once I wasn't being a sarcastic asshole .

He stared at me like I was a new game, some sort of puzzle he hadn't figured out yet. After a long minute passed between us he said, "if I didn't know better, I could swear you weren't being sardonic."

I rested my elbows on my knees so I could cradle my chin in my palms, giving Ryou my best attempt of a coy look. "Good thing you know better, then."

He made a sound, like a hum that wasn't quite agreement or argument. He turned and walked off, dismissing me with a hand gesture. "I need to order dinner."

I looked around the apartment. It was far too cozy. Was it always so comfortable? How did I live here so long before and never notice? Then again, it wasn't like I was fully in my right mind three years ago. Some of the things I did … it even bothered me, but there was nothing to do about it now.

Ryou walked back into the living room, brushing his mess of white hair out of his face.

There were a lot of things I never noticed.

Like how damn pretty he is.

"Bakura? Are you okay? You look kinda . . ."

"Flushed?" It was true, I could feel the heat on my face.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked, genuinely candid.

"Something fun."

He smiled, no longer candid. "Monster World?"

I stood up. "Yes, let's get it ready."

The most horrifying experience I'd ever known was the safe, comfy feeling I got in Ryou's apartment. I never relaxed during my first life, nor as a spirit haunting the Ring, but sitting on the plush carpet and watching Kek and Ryou pretend like they weren't flirting made it feel like a thick quilt wrapped around my shoulders. I didn't like it, not at all. I kept myself across from them, the DM against the players, but I wanted to scoot closer to them. I kinda wanted to be sandwiched between them.

We had two boat-shaped platters burdened with sushi, and a continuous stream of laughter bubbled from not only Ryou, but Kek as well. I even heard myself laughing. I couldn't help but relax; I couldn't help but stare at them.

It took a long time for them to make characters, mostly because they wouldn't stop flirting and finding excuses to slap at each other's hands or shoulders.

"Aren't you done with your character, Ryou?" I pretended to pay more attention to my plate than to them. "You should have everything memorized for a White Wizard by now."

"I'm going to be a Diabloist."

"Bullshit."

Ryou looked up from his character sheet. "I'm serious. Being the same character all the time gets boring."

"But a Diabolist?"

Ryou licked his lips. "What You think I can't handle my share of demons and dark spirits?"

The words appeared straight forward, but the subtle pauses between them, the way he pronounced each word too clearly, his tongue on his lips before speaking, all betrayed him. I had a piece of tuna sashimi half to my lips before I paused and raised and eyebrow. "Nice innuendo."

He wasn't as shy as he'd been that morning. The game, the sashimi, the laughter, his guard was lower than mine. He smiled down at his character sheet and spoke to it instead of me. "There you go misinterpreting me again."

"Misinterpreting? Is that what I'm doing? I thought I was reading between the lines." I put the sashimi in my mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Kek looked up from his own stats. "What am I missing?"

"Nothing, Bakura's being an idiot."

Kek snorted a chuckle of laughter. "That's nothing new."

I couldn't believe how fucking dense Kek was. He didn't get that from Marik, that's for damn sure.

After they completed their characters, we started the campaign and got lost in it. I didn't notice how long we played until I saw Ryou's head resting on Kek's shoulder. I looked at the corner of the lap top. It was 2:30 a.m. which explained why my eyes burned.

"I guess we should go to sleep."

"In a few minutes, I've almost leveled up," Ryou muttered, his eyes closed.

"You're falling asleep on Kek."

"That's okay," Kek said as quick as he could. "I don't mind."

I shook my head. "You can stay there all night if you want. The DM is going to bed."

Ryou grunted, irritated. It reminded me of before when he'd work all night on writing a campaign and be exhausted the next day.

"Ryou, can you wake me up in the morning?" Kek asked.

"Mmm-hmmm," Ryou cooed, too asleep to form words.

Kek toyed with a strand of Ryou's hair, but Ryou was too gone to notice. "Thanks, Ryou."

"Mmmm . . ."

Kek smiled. He scooped Ryou into his arms.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

Kek glanced at me. "Putting him in bed."

Fuck, he was an idiot. I didn't want Ryou in his own bed, well, not without us.

I shrugged, like I didn't care. "You should just leave him on the floor. Toss a blanket over him. He'll be fine."

"Quit being an asshole." Kek carried Ryou to the back of the apartment where Ryou's bedroom lay. I heard Ryou mutter something and Kek responded, but I couldn't make out what they said. I pulled out the spare blankets and pillows that I put away earlier that morning.

Kek returned to the living room. He stretched and a pained expression betrayed how sore he felt. He scratched his stomach and looked at me. "Flip for it?"

The breath caught in my throat before I could stifle it.

Kek rolled his eyes and grinned. "For who gets the couch, not who tops. Isn't the DM going to sleep now?"

No, I said bed not sleep. Kek was a moron. How, seriously fucking how, was he more innocent than Ryou? Ryou might have played a slow game, but at least he was playing – Kek wasn't even on the board.

He slinked a little closer with a snarky Marik-grin on his face. "Unless you can't sleep otherwise?"

I was tempted to kiss him. One kiss and I knew we'd do it all over again, but humanity had a bad effect on me. It made me consider Ryou's feelings – something I never worried about before. I knew Ryou wanted to be part of this . . . arrangement, and I knew Ryou would feel left out if we did it again without him. I shouldn't have cared, but for some reason, I did.

So as much as I wanted to kiss him, I simply turned away. "No. I . . . just-just flip the damn coin already, asshole."

He chuckled. "Call it?"

At least I won the coin toss again. That somehow made me feel better about making an ass out of myself. Kek stretched out on the floor and I took the sofa. It was dark except for the street light filtering through the window. I'm not sure why, but I looked down at Kek and he looked back up at me with bright, clover-colored eyes. I could tell he was lonely, despite the fact that we were side by side. I could tell he wanted some sort of physical contact, and I wanted the same. I hated it, by the gods I hated it, but I couldn't deny it. I sighed and turned on my side, scooting as far back against the cushions as I could.

I didn't have to say anything. He knew what I was doing and leapt up beside me, hiding his face against my chest and pressing tight enough for us both to fit on the narrow sofa. I wrapped my arms around his waist and breathed in the scent of his washed hair. He held onto my midsection in return.

So terrifying . . . the sensation of being held. A little noise escaped unbidden from the back of my throat. I hated it. It sounded weak.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

I didn't want him to be sorry because I needed it, too – the touch of another person. I never allowed myself such a frivolous luxury before. The worst part of it was that I couldn't figure out if these strange urges (to be held, to be close to another living being) were something the gods did to us intentionally, something they changed in us before sending us back, or if it was a natural reaction to returning from the dead. There was a third option, much more frightening. What if we'd merely used our anger as a crutch for too long and affection of any kind was something we'd secretly wanted all along?

That thought horrified me. Mostly because I knew the truth of it.

I couldn't handle the thought, so I shrugged in the dark. "Whatever, don't apologize. I'm pretending you're Marik."

It was a lie.

I'd thought about Marik a lot that day, but Marik was Marik and Kek was Kek.

"Yeah? Good. That means I can pretend you're Ryou."

I laughed at that. "Idiot. I told you to leave him here. He'd be all about a three-way cuddle."

The room grew quiet, then Kek muttered, "I can't."

"Go in there right now and tell him you had a nightmare. He'd probably offer his bed to you."

"Hell no. I'm not three."

I thought of how lonely the couch would be with Kek in Ryou's bed. "Then I'll go with you and say I had a nightmare instead. He'd let us both snuggle up to him, and his the bed's much bigger than this couch."

"I can't," Kek's whisper was soft. "I'd just fuck it all up and get us both kicked out of his apartment."

"Suit yourself. You're the asshole who's muscles will be even more sore in the morning from sleeping on a couch instead of a bed."

Kek was hopeless and Ryou was too polite to outright say want he wanted. I was going to have to take up the noble cause of getting us all in the sack together, altruist that I was.

I wished I was half the villain everyone thought I was (that I used to be when I had the Ring). Then I could let my mind wallow in the gutter and think about sex with Ryou and Kek all night long, but the quiet in the room made my mind wander, and it wandered where it always did – to Marik. I needed to see him at least once. I wanted him to look me in the face and tell me to walk away. If he could do it, I'd never bother him again, but I didn't think he'd be able to.

In fact, I knew he couldn't do it.

I just needed to leave a trail of breadcrumbs.

So he could find his way back here.

Back to me.


	9. Marik

*****I think I fixed the chapter error from yesterday. Sorry about that guys! (ff net is aweful. In A03 you just click edit and you can edit, but on here it's easier to gather the Items and summon Zorc than it is to edit something :/)*****

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The pallet I laid on was hard. It reminded me of those old days. Those always cold, always dark, always suffering, always locked in a tomb, old days of my childhood. Perhaps the ground would have been softer, but I wouldn't dare get on the dirt. The siafu, driver ants, usually didn't attack humans, but were capable of stripping a man to the bone if they came across one. Outside of the hut, I heard predators, a lion asserting his territory, hyenas hunting, but the noises weren't why I couldn't sleep.

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and stared at the photograph on the lock-screen. Ishizu and Rishid smiled at me from the back-lit screen. They were happy in that picture. It was on the boat as we sailed home from Battle City, and I smiled at the sight of them. After the lock-screen, my phone's background had another picture. Bakura, grainy and a little out of focus. I hacked into Kaiba's surveillance footage on his blimp and stole the image after Battle City. I was stupid, I knew, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted a memento. Whenever I struggled, whenever I felt like I couldn't win at losing and wanted to succumb to my old attitude, I'd stare at those photos. Ishizu. Rishid. Bakura. I'd stare at them and I'd remind myself that my only options in life were to succeed or to fail – quitting wasn't either of those; therefore, it wasn't an option.

After Yugi's Ceremonial Duel, I mourned. Not for the Pharaoh – for Bakura. I was sure Atem would enjoy Aaru while Bakura would be tossed to Ammit without a second thought. I prayed to Bastet, screamed, cursed, and damned Ma'at. How could she let the Pharaoh move on and let Bakura suffer oblivion? Where was the balance? The justice?

But what could I do? I didn't know what to do. Ishizu and Rishid sensed something was wrong, though I tried to hide it. Rishid suggested that I started to search for the path I needed to walk. I thought I was. I thought going back to Egypt was that path, but he shook his head 'no' at me. He insisted 'living normal' wasn't for me. But what could I do? I spent half my life worshiping the Pharaoh and the other half hating the Pharaoh and with him gone – there was nothing for me to aim for.

One day while drinking tea with my siblings, Ishizu told Rishid and I the story of Seto Kaiba, of how he took a company that created weapons and changed it into one that made games. She also mentioned the donations and charity work he did for orphans. Hearing the story I thought that, deep down, Kaiba didn't want anyone to become him – to have the kind of pain in their lives that forced him to become strong, but cold.

Like Bakura. Like me.

Then I had an epiphany. If he could help orphans, I could help villages; if he wanted to prevent another Seto, I would prevent another Kul Elna or another clan of tomb guardians; if he could convert a company created for war into one that manufactured games, I could transform a multi-billion dollar organized crime ring dealing with counterfeit trading cards into an organization focused on providing clean drinking water throughout Africa, expelling Western industry, preventing further corporate rape of indigenous resources, and above all else – educating the people in order to maintain any progress made. Not an easy task. I couldn't simply call a meeting of my former criminal constituents and announce my change of heart. No, some hedge companies needed to be bought out by others, some needed to be given up as loses (the corruption running too deep for me to salvage them), and some needed to be overtaken. More than a few "accidents" happened in the process, but I was always careful about who I dealt with and who I forfeited against because I never wanted to pay for my redemption with the blood of my siblings.

As I designed my new programs, funded them, and set my plans into action, an extraordinary phenomenon occurred.

I found myself.

My _true_ self.

When stripped of everything – childhood and past mistakes – and left nothing but the core essence of myself, I realized that I loved digging wells and helping the farmers with irrigation ditches. I loved teaching children how to read and calculate equations. I loved learning new dialects to communicate with villagers on a personal level. I could have stayed behind a desk, managed the companies from a distance, but that part bored me. I made Rishid act as C.E.O. While I ran around with our core team to different countries. I rolled up my sleeves and participated instead of delegated. It made me happy, so happy that it hurt.

Then they came back. All of them. Pharaoh. Thief. Shadow.

And I was scared.

Not of the Pharaoh, I'd made my peace with him, and not of my shadow, I was too strong for him to influence me like before.

I was afraid to see Bakura.

I smashed my emotional walls to rubble while digging ditches and teaching children. I stripped myself of all armor and found my true strength. I was afraid because If I saw Bakura I would hold him and I wouldn't be able to let go. I would tell him the truth – that I loved him. Not stupid fairy-tale love, not let's live happily ever after love. It was different. It was more like the way certain atoms just fit together to form a molecule. I understood him, his rage, his thirst for vengeance. I understood the person he could have been if his life hadn't been tragic (like mine).

But if I explained any of that, he would laugh at me and call me a fucking retard.

It was impossible for me to pretend to be the same person I was in Battle City. I couldn't smirk at him and fuck him and help him scheme up a new plan to obtain vengeance against Atem. That Marik died when Ra attacked us. I was someone else, risen from the ashes Ra left behind after he burned us. I loved Bakura, but I knew I wasn't who he wanted anymore. He wouldn't want me. I liked helping people, and doing good things. Bakura thought helping others was nonsense. He wouldn't want me. It hurt to think of it, but ignoring it wouldn't make it less true or less painful.

Regardless, when I heard his voice – that dark, sardonic, velvety voice – I was ready to leap into the air and fly to Domino myself – fuck a plane, I could have glided all the way to Japan by willpower alone. More than anything I wanted to see him, even if to be rejected once he realized I was useless to him. And I would have done just that.

But I couldn't leave the village.

A prestigious company from Britain was trying to obtain mining rights near the village in which I slept. The aftermath would ruin the land, pollute the water, and destroy the local culture and the lives of the villagers. This wasn't digging a well. This wasn't something I could leave for a intern to deal with, or even Rishid. Bakura had the ill luck of calling me days after I'd begun a strategy game between my companies and the opposing British company – a game of lobbying, flattery, and political bribes to win the mining rights of the land. I _had_ to win to protect the people who trusted me. No matter how badly I wanted to see Bakura – even if he would call me a fucking idiot – I couldn't.

Because quitting this fight wasn't an option.


	10. Ryou 3

It was morning and damn I was tired. I smiled when I remembered Kek carrying me to bed like he was some chivalrous knight. I muddled through my morning routine and when I was dressed and showered, I found them snuggling together on the sofa. At least they wore boxers and tank-tops. Not that I'd be mad if they were naked again – I'd just feel left out. I looked down at them while they slept. No pictures, I was just appreciating the sight of them. They looked peaceful, and beautiful, laying there, and I felt like a bastard when I shook Kek's shoulder to wake him. I'd rather let him sleep, but he had to go to work, too. He ignored me, lost in sleep and dreams.

I knelt beside him, petting his hair. "Hey, Kek. Don't be late for you first day at work."

I spoke his name three more times before his eyes fluttered open behind his thick, sandy lashes. He smiled when he saw me and the look made my heart jittery.

"Hey, Ryou."

"Hey, Kek. Time to get up."

He tried to push himself up, his features crunched together in pain. I grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet.

"Still sore?"

He swallowed a wince and gave me another grin. "A little."

Bakura reached for Kek on the couch, grumbling with a frown when he realized he lost his sleeping buddy. I managed not to laugh, but it was hard. Bakura looked rather cute with his hair mussed and his face frowning. I really wished I'd known that the "evil" spirit possessing me three years ago was such a teddy bear, we could have had a policy of less blackouts and more snuggling and everyone would have been better off for it. I knew better, back then cuddling wasn't an option, no one ever tried achieving vengeance through cuddles, but I think more people should. It might have been one of the big secrets of the universe; hugging was the ultimate form of revenge and no one knew it because no one ever tried it.

Kek pushed his forehead against my shoulder. "I feel like we didn't sleep at all."

"I know," I sighed. "Let's go into the kitchen and get some coffee, maybe it'll help."

He slung his arm over my shoulder, and I escorted him to the kitchen table. Our breakfast was toast and coffee and Ibuprofen. Kek flexed and pulled at his arms as he ate.

"Are you going to make it?" I teased.

He nodded. "I'm used to pain. This is nothing."

Kek and Bakura, so used to pain that they didn't know how to handle friendship. I wished I could have helped them. I was supposed to be one of the "good guys," but I didn't know what to do to help them. Yugi would probably know, without thinking about it, he'd just do something and it'd all work out like magic in the end. But they were stuck with me instead, and I didn't know what to do anymore than they did.

"Oh, wait here," I told Kek as I remembered that I found an old duffel bag and thought Kek might want it. I fetched it from the bedroom and handed it to him. "Here you go. You can use that as a gym bag."

He reached out for it, holding my hands as he grabbed the bag. There was so much gratitude in his eyes that I felt like a jerk, like I wasn't doing enough to deserve that look.

I stared at my feet. "If you hurry and change, I'll walk you to work – if you want me to – you can go alone if you'd like."

"Give me two minutes." He ran out the kitchen, leaving his coffee half consumed on the table.

By the time I rinsed our coffee mugs and walked into the living room, Kek was already dressed and packed. He pretended not to be sore as he swung the bag over his shoulder and nodded to me.

"I'm ready."

Bakura settled deeper into the couch, eyes still shut. "Later morons."

I smiled. "You have a good day, too, Bakura."

He grunted and pulled the blanket up to his chin.

Everything outside gleamed in the dew-speckled morning. Traffic mingled with birdsong and a breeze hit our faces as we walked. I was tired, but in a good mood.

"I'm surprised you both fit on that couch. I would have thought Bakura would have pushed you to the floor as you guys slept."

"I started on the floor, but . . . it felt empty." He shrugged.

I held his hand. I wasn't sure if I should, out on the streets, but I had to do something. He looked lonely, and I didn't want him to be. If we were home I'd hug him, but we were walking.

"How much different is it now from back then?" I asked. "I mean, Bakura used to control my body, but we were always us. Were you always . . . Kek?"

"Not exactly, I was Marik," he answered, thoughtful. "I only have a _Ren_ because you encouraged me to create one." He stared at his feet. "Marik and I . . . we started out the same and then tore in half. And now I'm completely different and everything is overwhelming." He sighed. "I know I shouldn't cling to Bakura. It's really not fair to him. He needs to be in Egypt, not here, but I don't have anyone else I can be near."

I stopped walking. His hand slipped out of mine and he turned around, questioning me with a look. I swallowed. "You have me, too."

He stared at his shoes. "I'm already a burden on you."

I also stared at my shoes. "No, you're not a burden, because . . . I was really lonely before you guys

came back."

My eyes jerked up when his fingers brushed against my cheek. He studied my face. "You're kinda like us, aren't you?"

I nodded.

"But will all three of us fit on that tiny couch?"

He kept a perfectly straight face and tone of voice that I almost explained to him that my bed was bigger before I realized he was trolling me. I started laughing. He grinned, grabbed my hand, and we continued walking. When the gym came into view I pulled my hand out of his. "When do you get off work?"

"Two," he said.

I sighed. "Three for me. Guess I'll see you at home tonight."

"Let's force Bakura to play Monster World when we get home."

"Of course. Have a good day." I waved goodbye and continued the last bit to my own job. The craft store was slow and boring, which was better than busy and filled with crazy old women. Yugi finally texted me back, apologizing over and over again. Apparently, Atem hadn't done anything except curl into a ball in hysterics, weeping in Yugi's lap and not letting his former other half take more than two steps away at any time.

It made sense. If Bakura and Kek were cuddling on the couch as reserved as they were with emotions, then the Pharaoh – who showed his emotions easily – would be a mess. I tried to re-assure Yugi (who felt like he failed Atem by not making him happy enough). I explained, as best I could without going into details, that it was probably just the Pharaoh's way of adjusting to his new body and that he'd be fine. I told Yugi not to worry a hundred times, but I knew he was worried all the same, so I promised to visit. I didn't really want to. Yugi was my friend, but I'd rather stay at home and play Monster World with Kek and Bakura and _not_ see the Pharaoh.

My memories of the Egyptian RPG were dream-like, but I saw enough to realize why Bakura wanted revenge, why he sacrificed everything to redress his clan. The others didn't understand, they were _inside_ the game instead of playing it on the outside like Atem and Bakura. Yugi didn't see Bakura's _Ka_ , but I did. How could the Pharaoh fight Bakura when he saw that Diabound was a pure soul? Why didn't Atem question _why_ Bakura was fighting them? How many lives could Atem have saved had he taken the time to ask a few simple questions? Ma'at was truth, but Atem didn't seek the truth, neither in ancient Egypt nor during the game. Ma'at was justice, but Atem never understood the truth, therefore, couldn't bring justice to Kul Elna. Nor was their justice in the palace. I remembered the experiments performed on minor criminals in order for Aknadin to find stronger _Ka's_ to misuse. Where was the justice for those who suffered in the dungeons? Atem didn't even noticed that part of the game. He was so obsessed with winning that he _never asked about anything, never noticed anything, never acknowledged pain or suffering unless it belong to him or his friends._ Thinking of it made me angry.

And Bakura, poor Bakura. His soul was like papyrus scroll, ancient and beautiful but old and worn. He was strong enough to survive thousands of years, but he'd grown brittle because of it. He should be with his clan in the afterlife.

Sometimes, even for me, it was hard to think of the past. There were some horrible memories … really horrible, and I still cried when I thought about them, but I could feel the difference between how Bakura had been when he was trapped in the Ring with Zorc, and how he was now. It's not like he was a different person, not exactly, it was more like he _truly was a person again_ , and not the dark god that had abused him.

I was surprised, and thrilled, when I stepped out of the store and saw Kek across the street. He leaned against a light post while he waited for me. I blinked, as if to prove he was a day dream. Instead of vanishing, he walked across the street and held out his hand for me to take.

"Ready to go home?"

I gave a nod and took his hand and started walking with him. I hoped he couldn't feel my pulse through my sweaty palm. It beat fast though we walked slow.

I stole a side glance at Kek's profile. "Did you get off work late?"

"Kinda. There's always something to do." He shrugged. "And, I dunno, I thought it'd be more fun walking home with you . . . so you weren't lonely . . ." His voice trailed away, as if unsure of his own words.

I stammered a moment, trying not to sound as stupid as I felt. "Yeah, this is better – I mean, walking home with you."

"How was work?" he asked it like it was an odd question. To him, It probably was odd. He never had a chance to have small-talk with anyone.

"Boring," I answered, "but that's not necessarily bad. How about you? Still sore?"

He shrugged. "Nothing I can't handle. I like it in the mornings. It's quiet and almost empty, but it's hard when it's crowded. It's hard being around a lot of people. I . . ." he stopped.

I squeezed his hand. "You don't have to censor yourself around me, you know. Say what you were going to say."

"When there's too many people around I want to stab them." He made a broad, sweeping gesture with his free hand. "Cut a path clear and then sit under a table until it's quiet again."

"Why under a table?"

He shrugged. "It's just what I thought of. It seems like it'd be soothing."

Maybe it would be soothing, like a protective fort. I've felt that way more than once at the craft store myself. I bit my lower lip while I thought about it. "Do you want to stab them because you hate them?"

"Not specifically?"

"Do they make you angry?"

"Kinda because they're crowding around me, but not really."

"So it's not so much anything they're doing, but just because they're in your space?"

"Maybe, probably, something like that." He shrugged. "I don't know. The kids weren't so bad, at least. For some reason they don't bother me, although they're all little shits."

"Kids?"

"Kyubi trains them to box. I got stuck with the youngest ones." Kek rolled his eyes. "We pretty much spent an hour reviewing right and left . . . I'm not sure I like being called senpai."

"Sunflora-senpai!" I laughed. It was too precious not to laugh.

"Oh shut the fuck up."

"It's so cute. I wish I could have watched you trying to teach a group of kids."

He frowned and changed the subject. "So, when we get home I need to check my spells. I didn't expect Bakura to start us off on such a difficult dungeon."

"Yeah, he's a jerk when he DM's. Watch his dice because he'll manipulate them."

"Yeah? You kept hitting the table with your knee at awfully opportune times last night."

I gave him a guilty smile. "Maybe, but only to keep us alive." I showed him my free hand. "Monster World Scar."

"Liar."

"Ask Bakura."

"It's probably his fault."

"Of course, all of my scars are his fault."

Kek touched my shoulder where my other scar sat. "Doesn't that piss you off? How can you forgive him so easily?"

"I can't really explain it." I gestured with my free hand, as if that would somehow give me the words I needed. "He was part of me for a while, you know?"

"It must be nice . . . to forgive that easily. I still hate the Pharaoh."

"It's difficult with the Pharaoh. Sometimes even I want to punch him." The words slipped out of my mouth as soon as I thought them. No filter. No filter at all. Darn it.

We're at the apartment, but Kek was laughing so hard that he had to lean against the door for balance and I had to wait for him to stand back up before I could step inside. He stood in the hallway, holding his belly while he laughed and winced from sore muscles. His laughter reminded me of street musicians, unexpected and wonderful to listen to. After a minute he followed me inside.

"You're in a good mood." Bakura sat on the sofa, eyebrow raised as we walked inside.

He nudged me with his elbow to encourage me to explain. I shook my head. He chuckled a bit more.

"It's not that funny," I hissed in an embarrassed whisper.

"Yes it is. Coming from you it's that funny."

"I can be nice without liking _everyone._ "

Bakura tilted his head. "Who could you possibly not like? For the gods' sake you hang out with us."

I sighed. I opened my mouth to mutter something non-plosive, but instead several of my thoughts from the day slipped out.

"Look, it's just, you're all having to make adjustments. You came back from the dead, that's to be expected, and of course Atem will show his emotions more than you, that's to be expected as well. Still, crying so much that Yugi can't even take a shower? What the hell, Atem, you were the ruler of Egypt, show at least _some_ dignity. It pisses me off . . . he pisses me off so much. He's such a spoiled brat. I think he's an asshole. There. I said it."

I slapped my hands down to my side. Better to rant in front of them than to let something sneak out of my mouth when I'm with Yugi, or worse, Atem himself. I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I really didn't.

I went into the kitchen and poured a glass of juice for all of us, manners compelled me to get a glass for everyone. I brought the drinks back to the living room and sat on the couch. Bakura sat a cushion away.

He gave me an odd look. "You think he's an asshole because he's crying?"

I frowned at my juice. "Well, no, because his crying is making Yugi unhappy, and he's so absorbed with himself that he doesn't notice."

Kek gulped his drink down in a shot and sat on the carpet in front of us. "Out of all people, I'd have thought you'd welcome complaints about the Pharaoh. Besides, Ryou on a tirade is the cutest thing I've ever seen."

I hid my face behind the juice glass as a took a drink. I couldn't stay angry when Kek called me cute.

"Ryou doesn't get angry easily. I don't think he's saying everything."

I finished my juice and set the glass on the end table. "He attacked me with Slifer. How about that for a reason to be angry?"

Bakura shrugged. "And Kek attacked 'you' with Ra, but in both cases I was the target."

"I didn't ask Kek for help. I asked Yugi to help me . . . the Pharaoh just stood there. You were the one that helped me, Bakura."

"I saw that through Marik," Kek looked thoughtful. "The Pharaoh shielded your other dumb friend when I attacked him, but he still attacked you with Slifer."

Bakura shook his head. "I goaded him into that attack."

"No." I watched my own hands as they curl into fists. "The real reason he attacked me was to win his stupid duel. Yugi swears he would never have attacked me directly. _Yugi_ wouldn't, but I think Atem would – to win. Remember Pegasus' Island? He was going to let Seto die – to win a stupid card game."

Bakura rested a hand on my shoulder. "Ryou. Stop."

"Stop what?" I spat.

"Being angry."

"Would that have worked on you three years ago? Just saying stop?"

Bakura smiled. "No."

I smiled, I felt better after my rant. "You're right though. I shouldn't be so angry. It just doesn't seem fair that Atem gets to do whatever he wants, but Yugi's still insisting that I kick you both out for my own safety. I don't want either of you to leave. It's only been a few days, but you guys are great roommates. I just wish . . ." I looked down and blushed. Caught myself that time. Good thing, too because I was about to tell them how nice it'd be if they started cuddling in my room at night instead of on the couch.

Bakura scooted closer to me on the sofa, his white hair grazing his shoulder. "Hey Ryou?"

"Yeah?" I looked at Bakura.

He grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me close. I gasped, but before I could ask what he was doing, he kissed me.


	11. Kek 3

*****This is the last section for awhile. The rest of this fic is a hot mess and in present tense (because I wrote it in present and then ended up hating it more than the first person). Soooo ... rustshipping lemon, have fun*****

* * *

My jaw dropped when Bakura kissed Ryou. I stood frozen for a moment, staring at the contrast of their skin and the mess of hair, white mixed with white. They were so beautiful that I felt dizzy. I shook my head to push my daydreams aside and yanked Bakura by the hair to pull him away from Ryou.

"The hell, Bakura? You can't just grab people and kiss them like that."

"Really?" He smirked and wiped the corner of his mouth. He didn't seem to mind his hair tangled in my fist. "Isn't that how you kissed me the first time?"

"Yeah." I admitted, frowning. "But you're not Ryou. Show him more respect or I'll break your nose."

"You still don't get it, do you?" He wrenched his hair out of my grasp and grabbed my shoulders in order to spin me a few centimeters away from Ryou's face.

" _Look at him_ , you idiot."

So I looked at him. His eyes were dark, dilated; his lips were rosy from friction. A dark blush followed the delicate curve of his cheekbones. His lips were parted so he could breath through his mouth and in that moment it took all the willpower I never knew I had not to lean forward and steal a kiss for myself.

Bakura's breath tickled my ear as he leaned against me. "He _wants_ to be kissed. Stop making him wait."

I leaned a little closer, my eyes only half opened. Ryou tilted his head up, making it easier for me, but I hesitated. I kept thinking that as soon as our lips touched, I would be back in the Shadows. Becoming human, the past few days, Ryou and Bakura, it was too good not to be an illusion. A cruel illusion the darkness created to break me.

 _Good things never happened to me._

And if they did, I would never be allowed to keep them.

I couldn't imagine anything more good than Ryou in my arms.

Ryou gave an impatient, strangled noise, probably his version of a growl but much too adorable to be considered anything more than a purr. He stood on his toes and reached for my mouth. Kissing me instead of waiting to be kissed.

And I didn't wake up back in the Shadow Realm.

And he didn't melt away into nothing.

We were real and the softness of his lips, of his breath, of his kiss, were real, and the heart beating in my chest was real, too – I knew it then without a doubt. My fingers twitched and I submitted to the moment, reaching up and tracing his cheek bones with light touches. I didn't realize my own cheeks were wet until I felt Ryou wiping at my face with his palms.

"Shhh, shhh," he whispered.

I wasn't making any sounds, but I understood he wanted my tears to stop. I didn't know why my face was wet. I wasn't sad.

Or angry.

I was . . . dizzy.

I swayed and Ryou steadied me. I stared at our feet because if I looked at his face at that moment I'd never be able to look away again.

Bakura snorted, amused. "Well, I guess I've done my good deed for the next three thousand years. You two have fun."

He turned to walk away but at the same time, both Ryou and I reached out and grabbed his wrist. He blinked at our hands caged around his arm.

"Stay," Ryou whispered.

He thought about it. I could see the back and forth on his face.

I squeezed his wrist. "Might as well. Won't this piss off Marik twice as much?"

I wasn't fooling either of us. At best, Ryou and I would be keeping Marik's side of the bed warm for Bakura. I didn't know what Bakura had planned, but I knew he'd have something worked out by now. He wasn't clingy. He wouldn't follow Marik like a kicked puppy if Marik didn't want him, but Bakura was proud. He'd find a way to get Marik to Domino and make Marik reject him face-to-face.

Which Marik wouldn't be able to do.

Bakura looked hesitantly at us. By his eyes, you would have thought we were scorpions.

Ryou released his wrist and shrugged. "Would it make you feel better if I made a joke about you paying rent?"

He laughed. "I already thought of that."

I didn't get the joke. It was one of those we-shared-a-head moments that I never had with Marik.

Bakura rolled his eyes half up. "I suppose someone has to show you idiots what to do. Otherwise you'll just hold hands all night."

That would have been enough. I could have held Ryou's hands, and kissed his knuckles, and brush my lips across his fingertips and never left his side until I starved to death and considered it all a life well-spent. I would have never said that out loud, though.

Ryou batted his eyelashes, looking meek and innocent. "Yes, please Bakura, show me how it's done. I'm far too naïve to guess on my own."

The obvious bluff in his words made my spine shiver. I remembered Bakura mentioning that the box of condoms under the sink was near empty. Ryou had been on dates and probably had more than one ex-boyfriend, which also meant he had way more experience in bed than either I or Bakura. As if to confirm my thoughts, Ryou grabbed my free hand and dragged me and Bakura to the bedroom. He ripped off his clothes and flopped on the bed like it was just another card game, but I was nervous.

"Well? How is it done, Bakura? How can you show me when you're still dressed?"

Bakura snorted, but then turned and looked at me. He must have sensed my shyness, because he cupped my cheek in his hand and started kissing me. Our kisses were more in-sync than the first time. We've grown used to the way each other moved. I glanced over at Ryou and saw that he was growing hard at the sight of Bakura and I making out. I felt my cock expand as well. Bakura removed my clothing slowly, nudging us towards the bed as he went. He only wore gray sweatpants and a red hoodie, so we stood naked and next to the bed far too soon.

Bakura pushed me down on the bed and I somehow became trapped in the middle of them. Ryou kissed and toyed with my left side and Bakura did the same with my right. I knew I was going to end up on the bottom again and it pissed me off. I would fuck Bakura next time no matter what – as a matter of principle. I started fussing, kicking out, and squirming. I wasn't going to make it easy on them to take me. At least I was going to try not to make it easy, but I was already gasping. Each touch, each kiss, each Bakura, was a little too much for me to fight against. Their warm kisses made me want to moan and beg for it like a bitch, but I couldn't do that in front of them. I wouldn't. That'd be a little too embarrassing. My resistance made Bakura back up a little to give me more room, but it only encouraged Ryou.

He grabbed my hair in order to hold me in place and bite my throat. There was no mercy in the act, no gentleness, only his teeth and my skin and a thrill igniting every nerve in my body. The violence of his mouth reminded me of how I used to be, the fun in not holding back. I pulled Ryou on top of me and hooked one of my legs around his back, clawing at the pale white skin covering his spine. He growled a little like before. It was very cute, to hear him growl like that, and my scratching was rewarded with more hard bites along my collarbone.

Bakura hovered over him, healing my claw marks with kisses. I scratched Bakura's chest. He didn't complain, but I could tell he wasn't into it, so I worked my nails against Ryou's outer thighs instead. He was _very much_ into it. It felt good – to not have to hold back, to bite and scratch and make someone scream and not have to worry because it was _wanted_.

Ryou grabbed my cock with one hand and Bakura's with his other hand. He stroked us until we're both grunting at him, and then he let go and grabbed a bottle of lube. I wondered what the lube was doing already in his bed and then I grinned at the thought of him using it on himself the night before. Bakura was right, we should have gone into his bedroom. Bakura all but told me to my face that this would end up happening, but I was too stupid to notice how right he was.

Ryou greased himself and slipped cold fingers into me. He tossed the bottle behind him so Bakura could do the same to him. When he thought I was ready, Ryou pushed inside me and Bakura pushed inside him. Ryou used Bakura's thrust to facilitate his own movement. Nothing shy or timid showed in his face, nor was their any novelty in his expression(although there was plenty of pleasure). He looked eager, not shy. He must have been with more than one person at a time before. He was too relaxed, more so than even his "evil" counterpart. I focused on the arousing contrast of Ryou and Bakura's naked bodies, the faces they made, the sweat trickling across their muscles, and the grunts and sighs of their love-making.

I meant fucking.

We were fucking.

Love-making is what you do when you are close emotionally to someone.

We were having a fun little three-way, no more significant than playing a board game together.

Right?

Or at least, that's what it was suppose to be. Wasn't it?

It was easier to pretend the first night when it was only Bakura, but Ryou's brown eyes looked at me as if I was the sun rising in the East, like I was Ra birthing a new day. Suddenly I couldn't remember why I had to pretend they weren't important to me. Who was I kidding? I did care, even about stupid Bakura. And I didn't want to pretend otherwise.

I reached up and touched the scars on Ryou's chest for a moment before grabbing his shoulders and arching my back and forfeiting to the experience.

I spread my legs wide, and relaxed. My face burned as I stared at Ryou, but I didn't try to hide my vulnerability. It was okay. It was okay to open up. So I started at Ryou, and touched his face, and kissed him softly as I made stupid, weak little noises.

Bakura's eyes were closed, like he knew better than to look. I still felt an odd kinship towards Bakura, something intimate and close but not necessarily yet romantic, wholly different from the chest exploding feeling Ryou gave me, but I was having trouble separating all my emotions. I could only lay there and express myself with thick, lusty moans, too engaged in the moment to sort things out.

Ryou lowered his face; his lips almost touched my skin as he whispered against my sternum. The blizzard of his hair scattered across my chest and stuck to my sweat. I couldn't make out his words, but his sweet, soft voice mixed with Bakura's heavy breathing clouded my mind. Ryou gasped and I felt his warmth spilling into me. He pressed his forehead against my body; his white, round ass still lifted in the air and framed by Bakura's dark fingers. I wanted more. They were so beautiful and I was hard enough to split like an overcooked sausage, but I didn't know how to ask for more.

Ryou tapped my side. "Scoot up a bit."

I didn't understand at first, but after he gestured with his hand I got that Ryou wanted me to slide up higher on the mattress. He grabbed my shaft, and I clenched my teeth. I was so sensitive that his hold almost hurt. Ryou laughed and then lowered his mouth. As soon as his warm, damp tongue touched my tip I screamed. It was lightning. It was Ra bringing life forth from the Ogdoad. My fingers cinched in his hair and I was screaming. I didn't care if I sounded like a bitch. I didn't care if it made me weak or if Bakura teased me for it later. I moaned and screamed and gasped. If Ryou stopped, I would have begged him, but he didn't stop. He cupped my balls with one hand and held my base with the other hand, pushing me deep into his mouth.

Bakura's grunts were loud and needy. I could tell by his sounds that he was about to finish, and I was pretty sure it was my screams setting him over the edge. Ryou had to slow down as Bakura sped his pace. I bucked into Ryou's mouth and a minute after Bakura dropped to the mattress beside us, my own orgasm made my heart pound and my calves ache and I crash against the sheets as well.

When it was over I couldn't move, not even my eyelids. I was shaking. Ryou nuzzled beside me and I forced myself to wrap the dead weight of my arms around him and open my eyes. Ryou rested between Bakura and myself.

Bakura tried to sit up, but Ryou grabbed him and kept him on the bed. "No, you don't."

"What? Now that I don't have to babysit you and Kek anymore, I thought I could have the couch to myself."

"Fuck you," I snapped at him, but my voice was hoarse and soft, worn from screaming, and I didn't sound threatening in the least.

"You can act as tough as you want, Bakura, but you're sleeping here tonight."

"I don't see the point."

"This is my favorite part – that's the point," Ryou said. "Shut-up and cuddle you bastard or I'm not cooking you breakfast in the morning."

His swearing is as cute as his growling. I grinned. "What's the matter Bakura? Chicken?"

"Fuck you." Bakura turned and faced me and Ryou. He touched Ryou's lips with his fingertips. "You're both assholes."

Ryou nodded. "You taught me everything I know about being an asshole, so I ought to be a good one."

I shrugged. "Marik taught me everything I know, so I'm also a good one."

Or maybe I taught him? I wasn't quite sure myself.


	12. Bakura 3

The month disappeared before it even felt like I'd settled into the apartment, a mess of calm, quiet days and hot satisfying nights. I was still sleeping with them. Even on nights when we didn't have sex, we shared Ryou's bed. I tried sleeping on the sofa, but it was . . . lonely. I didn't think about Marik in Ryou's bed, not as much, and fuck if it wasn't nice to sling your leg over a hip or a calf in the middle of the night while an arm slung around you.

I was surprised I hadn't heard from Marik yet. I mean, I'd stolen twenty grand from various accounts that he owned. I made it difficult to trace – but not impossible for Marik to trace. I figured sooner or later he'd want to yell at me. I couldn't help but to imagine that bossy, confident voice playing a sultry staccato in my brain as he bitched about nothing important and I retorted with sardonic one-liners, but that never happened. It was like he'd vanished from the grid somehow.

I pushed my thoughts aside and finished my beer, setting the glass at the edge of the table and watching the condensation pool where the glass met the table. We were at a bar, Kek and I, watching a fight. Ryou was wasting his time hanging out with what Kek and I had named "The Pharaoh's New Court." So Kek and I met-up with his trainer and a bunch of the meat heads they boxed with. Hanging out with Kek's gym crew was like finding yourself in a Western-style Gui Comi, or would be if their heads didn't jerk this way or that every time a woman walked by.

Marik would shit solid gold statues of Ra if he could see his alter-ego. If I hadn't walked into the bar with him, I wouldn't have recognized him myself. He laughed, joked, drank beer, and watched the fight, blathering on with his friends in boxing jargon I couldn't decipher.

Friends, holy shit, legit friends. I couldn't imagine Marik having friends let alone Kek. Personally, I'd rather stay at home. Kaiba had a special server setup for online duel monster games and that ate up a lot of my free time. Only what Kaiba considered "real goddamn players" had a password for it, less than thirty worldwide.

The list included all three Ishtars, but I'd only seen Ishizu sign on. In fact, I had an incredibly awkward duel with her because she mistook me for Ryou. I ended up playing along and pretended to be my old host so I didn't have to explain the mistake she made.

The whole mess was Ryou's fault, that little prank-loving shit. He changed his username to Hikari no Bakura then hacked into my account to change mine to Yami no Bakura . I haven't figured out how to change it back. The little bastard happened to be one of the only people better than me with computer code, but for some reason he prefers pencil and paper over a keyboard unless it's necessary. He thought the nicknames were hilarious. I thought they were fucking retarded. Ishizu just saw "Bakura" and rolled with it, paying no heed to the "yami" in front. I got my revenge on Ryou, however. I let it slip out that Ryou was "dating" Kek. She was very polite about it, but it didn't take long for me to win the game after that and she made a quick excuse not to play another.

The Pharaoh, or Atem, whatever the fuck they called him, wasn't a registered member. He had a password, but he never activated his account. Seto was pissed about it. I was pissed, too. It was his fault we were all alive, but according to Ryou all he did was mope around the game shop. The least the son of a bitch could do was be a respectable card game adversary.

After the fight we did several rounds of sake bombs, and by the time we walked home we were practically stumbling our way down the street, arms slung around each other for balance. As soon as we got through the door our mouths crushed together. We fumbled with our shirts and fell to the carpet, laughing.

"It's been over a month and I have yet to fuck you," Kek growled as he tugged at the waistline of my jeans.

"Idiot, that's because you keep fucking Ryou instead."

"We switch, but you haven't bottomed once for either of us."

I grinned at his words because they were true. I've been avoiding it, and it was all too easy when those two idiots kept getting distracted by each other.

"Tonight." He flipped me on my stomach and kissed my shoulder blades.

"Fucker, get off me," I growled, although at the same time I was grinding my ass against his crotch to get him good and hard.

We both laughed like idiots. Too many sake bombs, or just enough sake bombs. My fly was down and he teased my cock with his thick fingers. Yup, just the right amount amount of sake bombs. Thank the fucking gods for sake bombs. I don't even think Kek's group normally drank them – I'm fairly sure they were just trying to get the two Egyptians extra fucked up for shits and giggles, but hey, I wasn't complaining. It'd actually been a fun night, and the encore was looking to be even better.

I heard the door shut and Ryou's voice behind us. "Your night has obviously been more fun than mine."

We stopped laughing and glanced behind us. Ryou stood at the door in a long, dark coat that reminded me of the one he used to have years ago.

"So . . ." I said, drunk and amused with life, "how was gaming?"

It was funny talking to him while I was on all fours with Kek still holding my cock. I giggled at the thought. I hated how I giggled when I was drunk. Damn, maybe it's better that Marik doesn't come to Domino. I'd hate for him to hear me giggle. He'd call me a fool and leave. But there on the floor life was too glorious to worry about it.

Ryou smiled. He loved how I giggled when I was drunk. "It was . . . fun, but tense." He dropped his coat and shirt to the floor. "Everyone was pretending to be happy, but . . ." he shrugged.

Kek let go of my dick and slapped my ass. "Will fucking Bakura fix your evening?"

Ryou pursed his lips as if in thought. "Yes. I believe it will."

"Then go get the lube. I'll stay here and hold him down so he can't escape."

"I think he's too sloshed to escape, but I'll go get the lube."

I bucked to knock Kek off of me, but not nearly hard enough to get away. I wanted to fight a little, but more than that I wanted his hands grabbing me. The drinks were starting to wear off, but I still wanted to chuckle. Everything felt surreal – and it wasn't the booze. It was like I swallowed the Red Pill and woke up to a world that wasn't quite right, but was real.

The carpet pressed against my knees, Kek's fingers sliding up my thighs, the soft whir of the air conditioner. I'm here, in my own body (no more stealing Ryou's), in my own mind (no more Zorc distorting mine). When we fall asleep later I won't hide a dagger in my clothes, and I won't worry about being attacked in the middle of the night. It was weird, so weird. Last time I was in a body, comfort didn't exist, nor safety, nor laughter – the bitter mask of laughter, yes, but not real laughter. Manic laughter was always a way to defend myself, a warning system to let people know I was insane and dangerous and was better left alone. The last time I was in a body of my own, I didn't have—

I didn't want to say friends. That sounded like The Pharaoh's word, but I supposed it was still the correct word to use. I could call them lovers, but they were lovers that would back me in a knife fight if it came to that, and isn't' that what friendship was when stripped it down to its essence? Having someone who would jump right in the middle of any problem you had like it was their own. That was friendship, that was . . .

What I did for Marik during Battle City.

Shit, I hated when my thoughts circled back to Marik.

Kek was a blessing, giving me amnesia to my sorrows when he worked his lips against the nape of my neck. Ryou returned, naked, grinning, and holding a bottle of lube. Kek's mouth left my neck and I glanced over my shoulder to watch them kiss. It made a part of me yearn for them, but another part of me ached for Marik. I realized that I wanted all of them, and it was sad that it was a hopeless fantasy. Gods, it made my chest hurt. And since I had to choose ... I wanted Marik.

I hated it.

But I wanted Marik.

 _And if Marik truly wanted nothing to do with me?_

 _What would I do?_

I refused to consider the possibility of Marik never responding when I first returned, but a month had passed. Should I stay in Domino City?

No.

I couldn't stand the memories. I wanted at least an ocean between myself and the Pharaoh, perhaps the States, or Australia, as far away as I could get. Nevertheless, it was nice knowing that if I wanted to stay – Ryou and Kek would have let me stay with them. It was nice to have a home in them. Maybe I could steal them and take them with me. I was, after all, the King of Thieves.

I gasped. Ryou's fingers were inside me, slipping in and out. It wasn't an impressive feeling at first, but then Kek began fondling my cock and I could see the appeal.

Ryou leaned over my back and spoke in a soft voice. "Are you ready?"

I nodded my head yes. Why not? I hadn't tried it yet. Maybe I'd been waiting ... for someone else, but that didn't seem to be happening, and Ryou's and Kek's hands were feeling better by the minute. They were so good at making me feel attached to the world, even when i yearned for The Fields. I realized, in that moment, that even if Ma'at had lied to me, about Marik, it was okay- to be in the world- because they were in it, too.

Ryou moved his fingers, pushing them in a way that made me grunt. It was a sort of pressure, odd and deliriously wonderful at the same time. My fingers sank into the carpet and curled against the fibers. Carpet made for poor handlebars, but I had nothing else to grab onto, and I was finding that I needed to hold on as the wonderful, brilliant pleasure started to swell inside me.


	13. Kek 4

He worked on Bakura with his right hand and stroked me with his left, both hands greasy with lube. The gel made his hand glide quick and easy over my shaft. It was so good that I almost exploded over his fingers, but before I could, he pulled his hands away from both of us. Bakura and I moaned in protest. Desperate to recover the lost stimulation, I lined up behind Bakura and slammed inside his body. My fingers were a shade lighter than his dark brown ass, and I couldn't help squeezing his rump with my hands as I slammed in a second time. He clenched tight; his body unused to intrusion. I thought back to my first night with him, on the floor just like that moment. I remembered staring at the couch and shoving a pillow over my face so I didn't have to look at him, but now all I wanted to do was look at him.

My hips kept jerking forward on their own, but I forced myself to slow down. My body was used to a certain minimum speed, and it was hard to stay below that in order to be gentler with Bakura. Each time my control slipped and I hitched forward, Bakura cried out. At first I thought the cries were from pain, so I'd try to go even slower. But then I realized he was crying out because he was into it. The way Ryou loved biting and scratching and the way I loved getting my hair pulled, this was what Bakura loved in bed - a good, hard slam into his prostate, the kind of feeling that makes sparks dance across your closed eyelids and your cock tingle.

My lips curled back in a grin when I had the revelation. For weeks, Ryou and I had been trying to find something that'd make him really scream for it. He was always satisfied by the end, but he didn't seem to be finding the same _je ne sais quoi_ in bed that we had. From ropes and blindfolds to feathers and slices of kiwi, Ryou had an inexhaustible imagination in the bedroom, but no matter what we tried, nothing seemed to truly drive him crazy.

To test my theory, I rammed my hips hard into him.

"Fuck!" He tossed his head back to shout out the curse.

I eased up for a brief moment before doing it again.

"Shit!" Sweat glistened off of his back and forehead, and his thighs twitched in anticipation for another slam.

Ryou was watching us, occasional toying with himself. By the smile on his face I can tell he'd figured it out as well. I glanced at him and he nodded, so I stopped holding back, and pushed into Bakura quick and hard. He screamed, formless sounds interrupted by _shits_ and _fucks._ It came to mind that I wanted to watch the shape of his mouth as he yelled out those profanities, so I pulled out and flipped him over to his back. He glared at me oh-so-hateful, but also oh-so-pretty. I could tell he was self conscious about what his face might say to us and would rather hide his expression in the carpet, but oh no. Definitely not. Those were exactly the sort of expressions we'd been trying to see for weeks now.

So I grinned at his angry glare, more buzzed off of the sex than the beer or sake. His cock-head was swollen and dark; pre-cum welled and drizzled from the tip. Ryou leaned over and licked it off. Bakura hissed. The sensation of Ryou's tongue was near-unbearable by the look on Bakura's face. As I plowed into Bakura, Ryou rose up on his knees and kissed me . . . slow, languid. The feeling of his lips, soft and firm against my own, made my heart freak, pounding against my rib-cage and rushing me to orgasm. I grabbed Ryou's shoulder with one hand and came into Bakura with my other hand braced against him. I gasped, shaking with how good it'd been and disappointed that it hadn't lasted longer.

Bakura squirmed when I stopped. He was close enough that stopping was agonizing.

"Don't worry." Ryou dragged Bakura's over a few inches to get into a better position. "We're not done."

Bakura clenched his eyes shut, refusing to admit that he'd wanted more. Ryou flushed the moment his pushed inside. It was always amazing, to watch his white skin go suddenly pink when he got too aroused. I have seen the gods, beautiful and powerful in their Tribunal seats and their gold and gem finery, but I have never seen anything as deserving of awe and reverence as Ryou.

Bakura's screams pulled me back into the moment, and, since Bakura was a good sport about finally bottoming, I decided to treat him. I laid on my stomach beside him and propped up on my forearms. My tongue dabbed at the rim of his hood and , instead of a scream, a strangled moan left his mouth. I brushed my lips against his shaft, and then licked the hot, throbbing skin. Ryou often teased me. He said the gods were being obscene when they created me because my lips and a tongue were engineered for oral sex.

That's how I found out I liked my hair being pulled. A fit of inspiration had me switch from a blow-job to a rim-job on Ryou one night, and he almost tore my hair out of my head, and I loved every second of it. I often let Bakura fuck me from behind just so I can lavish kisses on Ryou's lower half – kissing, licking, sucking until my name became a prayer on his lips.

My mouth was completely around Bakura now and he was pulling my hair. I already climaxed, but the sensation of hands tugging at my spikes of hair still made me purr. then Bakura bucked three times and poured into my mouth and I swallowed. After he finished, I straddled Bakura backwards so I could look at Ryou. We kissed until his come mixed with mine in Bakura's body. And there we sat a moment, baptized in semen and sweat and silicon lubrication.

Ryou touched my cheek. His brown eyes glimmered in the light. "Let's go to bed."

Sex with Ryou is kinda like a spicy meal followed by a decadent dessert. In bed you can curse and scratch and pound till your hips hurt, but afterward, Ryou needed to be kissed and caressed and whispered to. That was one of my favorite parts – whispering. I've only built myself up to flattery, telling him he was beautiful, but one day I hopped my tongue unraveled and I said something real to him.

He went to the bathroom to clean up. A light snoring sound made me look down, and I notice Bakura already sleeping. With a grin on my face, I scooped him in my arms and carried him to bed. He was heavy compared to Ryou, but light compared to the weights at the gym.

"What the fuck, Kek?" he muttered. "Lemme sleep."

"Sleep in bed." I laid him down on the mattress and Ryou slipped beside him. He was in the middle and we drew imaginary hieratic on his chest to pester him, giggling as he squirmed from our ticklish caresses.

"Idiots," he muttered, still half asleep.

"Bottom," Ryou sneered with a sweet tone and a cute look on his face.

I chuckled. Ryou's insults always sounded like _I-love-you's._ He wasn't capable of of real malice.

Bakura opened his eyes. "I think you should know- I decided I have a year and then I'm getting as far away from Domino City as possible."

I exchanged a glance with Ryou and he returned it before we both looked back at Bakura.

His gray eyes stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"You . . . you can stay here," Ryou said.

Bakura smiled. "Thanks, Ryou . . . Hey, let's pretend I'm still drunk for a moment and not being serious, okay? I just wanted to say . . . I appreciate it . . . that you both would let me stay."

Ryou stared at the sheets. "It's not pity. We want you here."

"I know." He chuckled. "I know. I've never felt like someone's had my back before now." He shook his head. "But I hate this town. The damn game shop, the damn museum, the damn aquarium – most of all the pier. I can't go near it."

"Why the pier?" Ryou asked.

"Remember getting stabbed?" I asked.

"Which time?" Ryou snorted but he touched the correct scar. "This one? Not very well."

I sighed. "Ryou, you should kick us both out of your apartment."

"Duel Monsters, sex, and Monster World – why on earth would I give that up?" He tried to laugh, but his face went sad. "Bakura-"

"Ryou. Please. I can't stay here. It's cruel."

He said it so softly, so earnestly, that my chest hurt for him. If I knew where Marik was I'd fucking punch him for hurting Bakura. Instead of arguing, Ryou lay on Bakura's chest.

"Okay. We'll ... we'll just enjoy the time we have, yeah? And then when you leave, you'll still skype, right? And play Duel Monsters online?"

"Yeah, of course. It's not you I'm running from. You two ... you're the only reason I considered staying, but I can't."

"We'll visit you. Wherever you go. Anywhere. We'll still visit."

"Pick somewhere warm," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I was thinking California."

"America would be fun to visit," Ryou said. "Will you take me to see an American horror movie?"

"Sure." Bakura snorted.

Ryou curled up a little tighter to Bakura, trying to hold him in place. I did the same, turning on my side so I could sling one leg across both their bodies and my arm as well. I held them as close as a could, as hard as I could, as if I could keep us all together if I was just a little stronger.


	14. Ryou 4

Ever feel so good that you don't want to move? That's how I felt. The alarm clock screamed in my ears, but I couldn't force myself to get out of bed. Bakura's leg was draped across both of mine, and it was too heavy (too comfortable) for me to bother moving it.

"Ryou."

"Shut-up, Bakura. I can hear the alarm," I grumbled, squeezing my eyes shut as if that would drown out the alarm.

"Look, I don't care if you go to work or not, but shut off the damn alarm." Bakura moved his leg, and I groaned in protest.

Reaching over, I slammed my hand at the alarm clock until it quit wailing and then I shoved my face right back into the pillow. It only seemed like a minute later, though it must have been more, when Kek started shaking my shoulder and talking fast. That's when I realized we were late. I pushed myself up, glaring at Bakura as he stretched across the bed and snickered. I ignored him and stumbled down the hall, crashing into Kek as I tried to get into the bathroom for a shower- I definitely needed one after the previous night.

"Sorry," Kek mumbled. The lines around his eyes and the shadows beneath them showed that he was as tired as I was.

"You go ahead." I bowed a little out of habitual politeness.

"No, you go. There's won't be enough time for two showers."

"In that case-" I grabbed Kek's hand and pulled him into the bathroom. "We better take one at the same time."

"I like how you think." He grinned as I turned on the water.

For once my mind wasn't in the gutter; it really was quicker and more practical for us both to shower at once. I grabbed the soap and rubbed a thick lather into my hands, and then passed the soap to Kek so he could do the same. Only, instead of washing his own body- he started washing mine. I looked down at my own body, watching his hands spread white suds over my equally white skin. The grin stayed on his face, tongue lolling out just a touch at the side.

"Is it the hot water painted your face that soft shade of coral, or my hands?"

A half giggle escaped me and I avoided the question by washing his body in return.

"You know…" he continued to talk as we started shampooing each other's hair, "I think this is the first time we've ever been naked alone together."

I thought back and it was true. Alone we've cuddled, and napped, and dueled, made out on the couch, flirted, and even snuck in quick hand jobs between rounds of Mario, but we never been completely naked and able to touch each other as thoroughly as we were at that moment. We could have. Just like the night before, when Kek and Bakura started without me, there wasn't any rule saying the three of us alway had to be present, but each time we started to kiss … I got lost. So lost, and so happy, that I'd forget to take Kek's clothes off and just kiss until my lips burned instead.

As if reading my mind, Kek kissed me at that moment. I moaned into it- very much awake now, thank you- and when he pulled away I licked my lips. With a regretful sigh I turned off the water and grabbed a towel.

Kek grabbed me and kissed him again. He lifted me into the air and shoved me against the bathroom wall. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held onto his thick, muscled shoulders for balance as he stole my breath.

"Oh, Kek," I whispered, "I want to. I want to badly, but we're going to be late for work."

"I know. I know. I know." He repeated the words over and over, but he couldn't seem to stop his mouth from smashing against mine. "Ryou," he whispered between rounds. "I can't let go. You mean so much to me. I want to stay like this all day."

I gasped into his mouth, our bodies cold and damp. I kept kissing him. I knew we needed to stop, but I liked the way his body shivered against mine as I kissed him. He carried me closer to the counter. I probably felt like a doll in his arms; he'd put on so much muscle at the gym. Just when I was about to give up and call into work, he set me down and wrapped a towel around my shoulders.

"I could kiss you all day."

"Then do it."

"I can't get you into trouble at work because I'm selfish and greedy." He growled, frustrated. Then he took a deep breath and kissed my forehead before turning away.


	15. Kek 5

We held hands as we walked to work. Usually we took our time, not wanting to part, but today our pace was brisk and the wind was cold in my damp hair. A block from the gym, Ryou let go of my hand and I sighed.

"I miss you already," I murmured. I sounded weak and lame and I hated myself for saying it.

"I'll see you after work." He touched my arm before running away.

His touch felt like a goodbye kiss, sweet but too brief. I went into the gym, cursing assholes that didn't re-rack their weights. After cleaning, I took a break, drank a protein shake, and started my own routine. Kyubi was in the ring with a new client. We exchanged a few sarcastic remarks, but otherwise ignored each other. I knew what to do without him now. My day was structured, same protein drinks and same clients, the only thing that varied was the workouts. It was therapeutic- the routine, and the exertion. It was hard to want to go on a bloody rampage after 50 minutes of agility based interval training – I was just too tired to bother with anger.

And I don't get pissed when I hold the mitts anymore. I don't think I'll ever like it, but if nothing else, training taught me to get out of my comfort zone and push through my problems. We've been training another fighter, Gakuya, his bout was the month after mine. He was older than me, 23, but we got along well. Maybe that was because he also stabbed his father, step father, actually. His step would come home drunk and beat his mother and him and one day, when he was 14, Gakuya stabbed his old man in the arm to stop him.

The mother blamed him, kicked him out of the house and he ran with a street gang to survive until Kyubi gave him a way out – fighting. I understood better now, why Kyubi wasn't afraid of me that first day. Everyone at this gym really was a fucking social service case. Kyubi's old man abandoned him, leaving him with a bipolar, alcoholic mother. He raised her more than she ever raised him.

You'd never guess by talking to them. You only heard these stories in snatches, because after you've spared, and worked the bags, and then tried to get some strength training in before you collapse, you sometimes found yourself talking about the damnedest things. You'd talk and everyone else would give an empathetic nod and make a joke of it, and somehow when it's over your brain deals with it a little better than before.

Oh goddammit! I went into second person again – It was a bad habit of Marik's that I couldn't seem to quit. Dissociation is a bitch.

I was relieved when we finished training Gakuya. I sat on the bench and sipped water. Kyubi sat across from me.

"You good?"

"Yeah."

"You don't give a fuck about the mitts anymore, do you?"

"Nope." I was full of shit. I'd never enjoy the mitts, but I'd never throw them at someone again either, and that was enough for me.

"Excited about the match? It's not too much longer."

I shook my head no. "I'll win, but I really just want it over with."

"Nervous?"

I looked up at Kyubi. "Can I still work here after the fight?"

"I'm never letting you leave. You think I'd go back to teaching all those little brats? No thanks."

"I'll deal with the kids before the mitts any day." I grinned.

"So what does your boyfriend think about the fight?" He still reminded me of a fox when he grinned.

"My . . . what?"

"Come on, Kek. I see him holding your hand every morning."

Yeah, but boyfriend? We were supposed to be bed buddies, or roommates, or something, I'm not sure anymore. We did hold hands, and I loved snuggling with him on the couch. Bakura needed to be a specific kind of drunk to want to snuggle without sex being involved (you could tell he always wanted it, but he constantly fought it). Maybe Kyubi called it right with Ryou.

I stared at my sneakers and picked dirt under my nails. "He doesn't know about the fight."

"You better tell him."

"Isn't that how you lost your last fighter?"

"Look kid, I know a thing or two about relationships – I've failed in enough of them. Secrets are never a good idea, and they rarely last."

"I know. I'll try to tell him."

Kyubi snorted. "Do or don't do. There is no try."


	16. Ryou 5

Shared showers became a delightfully regular habit between Kek and I. I asked Bakura to join us, but his answer was always "fuck you. I'm sleeping." So Kek and I washed each others hair and made out each morning without him.

We dressed and walked to the kitchen. My lips burned from the last quarter hour of hard kissing.

Kek mixed protein powder and flaxseed oil into his cup of oatmeal. Every morning. The same damn breakfast. For dinner it was chicken and green beans, and chicken and cucumber, and brown rice, and chicken and broccoli. Bakura and I were ready to puke feathers from all the chicken.

"Kek? Do you want an omelet? I'm off today so I have time."

"Thanks, Ryou, but I'm good."

"Are you sure?" I asked, I really wanted to make something nice for him, but he shook his head to decline.

"I have to watch my weight." He gave me a quick kiss and waved at Bakura who sat at the kitchen table with his own laptop and typed. Bakura grunted to acknowledge that he saw the wave and went on with his work.

I watched Kek leave and turned to Bakura. "Hey . . . I know this is going to sound dumb, but do you think Kek has ... um, well an eating disorder?"

"You're right. I do think that sounds dumb." Bakura's eyes stayed focused on his work.

"Seriously, Bakura. He's on the scale all the time and he worries about his weight more than Anzu did in high school, and I get that he works at a gym, but don't they get a cheat day or something? He's literally had chicken for twenty-one days straight."

Bakura peaked over his laptop screen. "Really Ryou? You kept count?"

"I was getting worried." I shrugged.

Bakura drummed his fingers against the table top. I could tell he was weighing options, trying to decide what to say next.

"He's trying to make weight."

"Make his weight what?"

Bakura sighed and set the computer to the side. Not a good sign. He looked at me.

"Okay, first I need you to promise not to get pissy."

"I'm already angry because of how you said that. It means you guys have kept secrets from me."

I slapped my hands against my sides and furrowed my brow. Sometimes I wished I was a littler more mean, like Marik. Then I could slap Bakura for being a bastard. He deserved it, for everything he'd ever done, but I couldn't lift my hand. Deserve it or not, it just wasn't in my nature, so I settled for the hardest look I could give- which was still probably about as hard as tofu.

Bakura nodded. He understood the look even if it wasn't intimidating, and he was never one to sugar coat or take offense when I got pissed at him.

"You're pissed off. That's fair, but if you're going to be angry, then, stay angry at me. I'm the one that told him not to tell you."

"It's real cute how you guys always take the blame for each other, but last I checked, Kek didn't take orders from you." My hands dug into my hips. I needed to do something with them just in case I surprised myself and slapped Bakura after all.

"You're already making too big a deal of this and I haven't even said anything."

"It doesn't matter," I yelled. "I don't want you two conspiring behind my back."

"We're not- look, he's going to fight in a boxing match, all right? It's how he got his job at the gym. He didn't want you to worry about him fighting though."

I frowned. I shouldn't have been surprised. I'd drank with Bakura and Kek and his boxing buddies a few times. It made sense that he would box too, but it still hurt that he hid it.

"You didn't trust me."

"Ryou, it's us. It's been less than two months and I think we've done a rather good job at redeeming ourselves, but you can't expect us to get everything right." Bakura sighed. "I know that's no excuse , but considering how well Kek's done with everything else, I really think he should get a learning curve on this one."

"So he's boxing?" I asked. Bakura was right. Anyone else, and yes I would have been more angry because they would know better, but Kek was literally learning how to be human, and he'd done a phenomenal job at it that I could easily forgive him as long as secrets didn't become a habit.

Bakura gave me an exasperated sigh. He didn't want to have the conversation, I could tell, but I wasn't letting him out of it.

"You have to tell me now, or I worry because you're still keeping things from me."

"It's not a permanent thing; it's just one match. Kyubi lost a fighter and Kek promised to fill in. That's why he's watching his weight. He put on so much muscle since he's been at the gym that he's almost out of the weight class he needs to be in for the match."

"How do you know all this?"

Bakura shrugged. "We talk."

"When do you guys talk about this?"

His grin was calculated and sinister. "When you're at court."

I got his jab, the that's what you get for keeping your loser friends implication of his words. Not that they'd have a problem with any other friends I made, but there was still too many open wounds between Bakura, Kek, and Atem. It was a little funny, I never got jealous watching them in bed, but the thought of them talking made me feel a little possessive. I stared at the tiles.

"I still wished he would have told me."

"I think he's a little confused about it, the bout. It's violence, but it's contained. I actually think this entire experience has been good for him. It's taught him how to control himself."

"You're right." I sat down across from him and smiled. "He even helps teach the little kids. I love hearing his stories when we walk home from work. It's definitely been good for him."

Bakura smirked. "But now that you know, I have an idea."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell him you know."

"Bakura, no secrets. Don't you get that?"

Bakura raised a hand to silence me. "Hear me out, this is going to be a surprise not a secret. He needs a robe, so let's go to the craft store on the other end of town, away from the gym, and I'll buy the material if you sew the outfit."

I bit my lower lip. It sounded fun, to surprise him, and I was good at sewing. I've made my own costumes for cosplays for years. It was also really adorable to see Bakura scheming something nice for a change. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. And seeing Kek's face when we handed it to him- damn, it was going to be great!

"Okay, under one condition."

Bakura frowned at me. "What?"

"We get hamburgers on the way there. I can't handle anymore chicken."

"Gods, deal. If I don't eat some red meat soon I'm going to become anemic."


	17. Bakura 4

I didn't understand the strange excitement welling up in the pit of my stomach. I hated sports. I hated them in Egypt as a child and I hated them in modern times. I always preferred games to athletics, but Kek's fight was the next night and I was excited for him, or maybe I was excited about the fact that Ryou was about to surprise him with the robe and shorts he made Kek for the match. We all took the night off from work (and the next for the fight, but Kek didn't know that detail).

I was used to gifts coming with a terrible cost. Zorc Necrophades promised to gift me with power and I lost my mind because of it. And in return, any gift I ever tried to give- say, turning certain friends into dolls for a certain landlord- was twisted, just as I had been twisted by the Ring. So this, giving a gift for the sake of it, without dark motives, without hidden costs, was novel to me, and therefore interesting.

I sat on the couch, on arm slung around the back and one leg stretched out on the cushions. Ryou knelt on the floor in front of a long, unadorned, ivory-colored box. Kek wandered out from the kitchen with his cup of protein-laced oatmeal, rubbing his bleary eyes with a fist. He reminded me of an angry, cartoon lion trying to wake up.

"Sit down, Kek." Ryou patted the floor beside him.

Kek nodded, his spikes of hair bobbed with the gesture, and he sat cross-legged next to Ryou.

"Yeah, we need to talk, anyway." He sat his oatmeal aside and drew on the carpet with a finger. "I'm sorry, and if you're mad it's okay because I should have told you weeks ago. I suppose I should have told you that day, but . . . I'm not, I mean I didn't, I can't—"

A soft look lit up Ryou's face. He really did look like a fallen angel at times, pure white with hair glowing platinum from the morning sun spilling through the window.

"Open the box, Kek."

He snorted. "You're going to want to hit me with that box in a second."

"I might surprise you."

He plucked at the carpet, as if the beige fibers were blades of grass. Kek took the box, stalling his confession.

"Ryou, you should know that tomorrow . . . I'm going to—"

Ryou pressed his finger to Kek's thick lips. "Shhh, open the box."

"But this is important—"

Ryou pressed a kiss into his lips. "It's okay, trust me and open the box."

I smirked, keeping my mouth shut. Kek gave up and removed the lid. His eyes widened at the sight of the glossy, dark purple fabric. Ryou insisted the color was eggplant, looked dark purple to me.

"What's… this?" he asked.

"It was Bakura's idea. I've been working on it all week."

Kek lifted the robe out of the box and fondled the silky material. His fingers traced the golden phoenix embroidered on the back. We tried to make it look like his cloak from battle city – reborn as a boxing robe. Intimidation was useful before a match, and I remembered the sight of him during our Shadow Duel . . . intimidating, yeah, he can pull that look off well, as well as I can pull off snarky, facetious confidence.

"You . . . made this?"

Ryou smiled wide and nodded his head. "Mmm-hmm, for your bout tomorrow."

He looked at Ryou, surprised. Then he turned and glared at me.

"You told him?"

I shrugged. "He thought you had Orthorexia."

"Oh." Kek sighed and looked back at Ryou. "I didn't want you to worry, but all I did was make you worry about the wrong thing."

"I was angry at first," Ryou admitted. "Not because you agreed to fight, but because you didn't tell me." Ryou toyed with his fingers, visually nervous. "Can I watch you fight?"

Kek frowned. "You don't want to watch that."

"Yes I do."

"I could get hurt . . . or hurt someone else. Not- not because I want to, not like I wanted to hurt people before, but it's still a fight, so..."

Ryou nodded. "I know, but I want to cheer for you either way."

Kek worked the carpet with his toe as well as his fingers. "You're not . . . afraid?"

Ryou scooted closer. "Are you afraid? Do you think fight will make you miss hurting people?"

Kek stared at his hands, like the first day we came back. It was like he was trying to fathom that he had his own body that he didn't have to share, like he was trying to learn how to make his own decisions for himself.

"I thought about that. I was worried my first few weeks but not anymore."

"Then let me cheer for you."

Kek wrapped the robe around Ryou's shoulders and pulled him close. He nodded and they kissed. I was glad to be on the sofa. It was fun to watch them, but it was too lovey-dovey for my taste. What I wouldn't have given for a nice, infuriating argument at that moment, but not with either them.

I settled for asking Kek, "what about your hair?"

He broke out of his Ryou-kissy-trance and scratched his scalp. "I was just going to put it up in a band."

I shook my head. I tried, damn hard, not to listen to their sports mumbo-jumbo when we drank, but I still knew that his hair had to be out of his face, and a simple band might not work when the fight got started. I rolled my eyes.

"Bring me a comb and some of Ryou's hair ties."

He looked suspicious. "What are you going to do?"

That made me play with the carpet, digging my toes into the fibers. Why can't the idiot just do what I asked? I didn't want to admit to doing something nice.

"Maybe you could go somewhere to get it done?" Ryou suggested.

I snorted and crouched beside them, taking a different lock of their hair in each hand.

"Have you ever noticed the difference in texture?"

I had. My fingers had yanked and tugged and pulled at both of their hair on too many nights to count. Ryou's hair was soft, silky, like spider threads. Kek's hair was also soft, but like willow rods. You could move it, but it'd only whip back in place the second you let go.

"Just because you can embroider silk doesn't mean you know how to felt wool. No one in Domino City is going to know what to do with your hair, Kek," I said.

"And you do?" Ryou laughed.

I let go of his hair and coughed into my fist. "My mother used to braid my sister's hair. I only watched, but I bet I can do a better job than some chatty, Japanese hairdresser."

They were quiet, and they stared at me. I never talked about my family before, not specifics. Kek broke the moment by getting up then and fetching the comb and hair ties. I sat back on the couch and he sat on the floor in front of me.

It was hard to admit that I fucking cared enough to try braiding his hair. You'd think I would have accepted my own feelings after two months, but it was still hard to admit that they were close to me. It was still hard to admit that my life had gained some semblance of normality. It was still hard to admit that I was happy. Marik remained a continuous, gentle ache in the back of my mind, but he was more like a dream I had at night while Ryou and Kek filled my days.

I ran my fingers through Kek's hair a few times, massaging his scalp. On a weird impulse, I leaned forward and inhaled the scent of his hair just for the joy of doing it before I started sectioning his hair into rows. Tilting his head sideways, I began at his hairline and selected a strip at the front of the row and split it into three strands. I braided it close to the scalp, supplementing additional hair to the three strips as I worked my way back.

Kek admired his robe as he let my fingers twist order into the chaos of his locks. "Why a phoenix?"

"Well," Ryou answered, "you were the only one to merge with Ra. It seemed to suit you- um, Bakura, are you corn-rowing Kek's hair?"

He asked in English so it took me a moment to understand what he said. I worked on the third row, my fingers fast a dexterous. They hadn't forgotten at all, even after three thousand years, picking locks, disabling traps, lifting jewels off of nobels for no other purpose than the bitter satisfaction the moment of pettiness gave me, my fingers remembered how to move fast. And I remembered how my mother's fingers wove just as quickly through my sister's hair- not white like ours, but black wool. Our mother said it was the hair of her mother, from deeper south in Kemet.

"I don't know?" I said to Ryou. "My mother called it braiding."

"Yeah, but it's – wow. Wow. I need a video of this."

I scowled but kept my fingers working as Ryou pointed his phone at me.

"Seriously, what is with you and your video fetish?"

"I need a video of this or I'll never believed it actually happened."

I started on the fourth row. "He can't fight with his hair in his eyes and a stray punch can knock a band loose."

"My oatmeal." Kek folded the robe back into the box and took his bowl, trying to hold still while I tamed the wiry mess of yellow into cultivated rows.

I snatched a peevish look at Ryou's camera. "I bet you still have the first video."

"I erased it from my phone."

"After copying it to your computer?"

"More than once in case you decided to delete it."

"I still don't understand why this entertains you."

"I don't think I can explain." Ryou gestured with his free hand as if movement could explain better than words. "It's . . . not what I'd ever expected."

"When I'm done, I'm stabbing your other hand through a game tower."

"Kek will protect me."

"Bakura, I 'd rather not kick your ass the day before my bout. Just play Monster World instead of stabbing him."

"But that's how we play Monster World."

"He's kinda telling the truth." Ryou said from behind his camera.

I was halfway through the mess of yellow. It was relaxing, weaving and sorting and weaving more. I think Kek felt the same way, because after his oatmeal he closed his eyes and breathed deeply as I continued to twist my fingers through his hair. I had the most stupid urges to kiss his forehead, but I was in a rhythm and refused to break it until every last strand was locked away in braids. I pulled all of them together and tied them up to keep them out of Kek's face. Because his hair was stiff, the braids stuck out of the ponytail in a spray of braided gold.

"Done."

Ryou turned off the camera and touched Kek's hair. "It feels neat."

Kek patted his own head. "It kinda does."

With his hair braided back, I realized his features were broader than Marik's, his nose a touch more flat and his eyebrows and lips were thicker. For some reason I was glad that the gods made him different. He deserved it; he was too good to be a copy.

And, although I told myself not to think it, I couldn't help noting that -when I finally saw Marik again, when I touched his face although I've touched Kek's face a hundred times- everything was going to feel new.


	18. Kek 6

It was the morning of my bout. I'd been dehydrating myself to guarantee I made weight and the only thing on my mind was the weigh-in. I was fine yesterday for the general weigh-in, but I still had the daily weigh-in to pass. Afterward, I could eat something that wasn't chicken. Anymore chicken and I was going to grow fucking feathers. So… so… fucking sick of chicken.

The fight wasn't until that night, so I wasn't nervous, yet.

"Oh good." Kyubi jogged up to me. "I was afraid we'd have to spend the afternoon trying to find someone to deal with your hair, but you got it taken care of. I found an old robe that will work."

"Ryou made one for me."

"Really?" He smirked. "So you told him?"

"He found out before I had the chance."

"Told you, secrets rarely last. At least he's cool about it, right? Or was the robe a goodbye present?"

I chuckled. "He's cool. Or maybe he's biding his time as he plots revenge, who knows?"

Both Bakuras love the notion of vengeance, only where the thief would destroy his enemies, Ryou would do something like buy them a puppy – something that appeared nice until it was three in the morning and you find the puppy barking at shadows and pissing on your bed-sheets just like puppies tend to do. And what can you do at that point? Puppies are cute. You won't get rid of it, simply scrub the sheets and drink extra coffee the next day.

"You could try apologizing to him with flowers. It works on women – I'm not sure about guys, though."

I shrugged. Would Ryo like flowers? Not as an apology, but as a gift. I kinda liked the idea of buying them for him, a dozen white roses as colorless as his skin, but is that appropriate? I wished I had someone to talk to about shit like that. Fuck it, I decided. I'd just take the gamble, do it, worse case scenario is that he would laugh at me for being a sap.

I should get Bakura something nice as well, like a six-pack of beer. He's easier to deal with.

"Ready?" Kyubi asked.

I nodded. Almost all of my paperwork was forged in some way since the gods didn't give us work visas. The papers say Kek Ishtar. I wasn't sure about keeping the last name of Ishtar, but I really couldn't think of anything else. I was technically Marik Ishtar, once, so even if Mr. Main Personality and Sister Dearest didn't want to admit it, I was still part of their pathetic, dysfunctional family. So I decided to wear the name like I wore the scars on my back, or rather, because the clan's scars marred my back, I deserved the name; I'd earned it through pain and blood.

I weighed in at about 80kg, just low enough to stay in the Light heavyweight class that I need for this bout. As we walked away from the scale and back to the lockers, all I can think about is noodles.

Noodles!

With pork and an extra egg.

Fuckinggodsyesnoodles.

Kyubi was trying to get my attention, snapping to pull me out of my pork and noodle daydream.

"Listen kid, the bout's at seven, but be here at five."

I nodded. He said something else and I growled at him. "All I can hear is 'bla, bla, bla, murder everyone and bla, bla, bla, eat three bowls of noodles'. Just let me go, old man."

Kyubi sighed, forfeiting. "Fine, get out of here. How many seats should I reserve?"

"Two."

"So, no family?"

"Those two are the only family I've ever really known."

Kyubi nodded. He understood.

I was free to find Ryou and Bakura and lunch. Family. Yeah, that's kinda what they were. They were always there with me. I lived more in the last two months than I ever thought possible. I've been able to watch the sun rise and set over the city, hear bird song, and watch the first umi buds burst into flower. I've overcome my panic attacks from the mitts, learned how to box, and built up to one-armed push-ups (next will be 360 degree push-ups). I've kissed beautiful boys, had my virginity "stolen" by the greatest tomb robber in Egypt, and . . I've fallen in love.

My mind shut down at the last thought, as if it couldn't handle the realization. I saw them both waiting for me, pale-haired and grinning. They stand out like white stars from the rest of the drab crowd.

"Ready for lunch?" Ryou asked.

He was the reason my mind felt blank.

I wanted to take his hands, and kiss each fingertip, and whisper something sweet into his ear, something that would make his breath hitch. Yeah, I'd get him roses, even If it was stupid, even if Ryou laughed at me and Bakura called me an idiot.

I ate so much my stomach hurt. Ryou had his phone out again, filming us. I was pretty sure he did it to piss off Bakura. It was Saturday, so the restaurant was crowded. Everyone talked at once and created a cluster of background noise. The noise of crowds always grated on me. I wanted to chop off their head and sit in a quiet corner. I always felt that way when surrounded by people, and I didn't think the feeling would ever go away. At least I knew I didn't have to act on every impulse. Once I would have, but I'd learned how to take a few deep breaths and control myself, locking my eyes on the two empty bowls in front of me to block everything out.

Ryou played with my braided hair, and I smiled at him. I couldn't help but smile at him even when it felt like the rest of the crowd closed in around me.

"There's a little time left before you have to go back."

"Yeah."

"Will you swing back by the apartment with us? I forgot, um-"

"His keys," Bakura said.

"Uh, yeah, my keys." Ryou giggled, twirling the tips of his head. "Guess I'm excited for the fight. I'm being a complete airhead today."

"Do you really need them?" I asked, standing up because I was ready to go. The crowds were getting even thicker.

"Sure, but I'd like to have my own. I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something- because I did forget something."

"And it's on the way." Bakura shrugged before leaving to go pay the bill.

So I follow them back to our place. Anything to get away from the crowded streets. We waited for Ryou to look for his keys. He appeared a moment later looking sheepish.

"I can't find them. Will you two come and help me?"

I roll my eyes. Sure, it's not like I have anything more important to do today, but how the hell am I going to say no to Ryou? His hair is wild around his face, and he's staring at me with intense, lidded eyes as I enter the apartment and-

I was slammed against the wall.

My eyes widened, too surprise to keep my balance. Behind Ryou Bakura grinned and licked his lips.

"Uh, what are you guys-"

"We heard an interesting rumor," Bakura answered as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Oooookay…" I waited for them to explain, but Ryou kissed me instead.

I acted on reflex, opening my mouth and greeting him. My wrists were currently pinned to the wall, so I hooked my leg around Ryou's waist and pulled him closer. It wasn't until Ryou was tugging my pants down that I thought to protest.

"Wait, guys, I can't."

"Actually, you should." Ryou winked and continued unrobing me.

"A few of your friends told me to take care of you before the match."

"Um…"

"He means we're going to let you fuck us. Both of us." Ryou licked up my thigh and around the curve of my hip.

I shuddered and groaned. The trails left by his tongue cooled in the air, making me squirm for the warmth of Ryou's mouth.

"Is this really a good idea? I don't want to be exhausted when I fight."

"They were very insistent that we should do this."

Was it a prank? Was it some superstition between them? Was it some nonsense they saw on a boxing forum? I wasn't sure, but I couldn't care anymore because Ryou was naked and leaning against the wall beside me, and spread out like a banquet, and all I could think was fuck him, please fuck him right now.

Bakura handed me a bottle of lube. I wasn't sure where or how he got it, but it was in my hand now and I was using it to prep Ryou and then coat my own cock. I slipped inside, sighing at the instant warm, squeezing feeling of Ryou's body around my prick. My hips started moving on their own, and the crude slap-slap of our bodies sang out over the sound of the air conditioner and Ryou's soft coos of pleasure.

Bakura stood behind me. He held my hips, and used his nose to brush my braids out of the way so he could kiss the nap of my neck. Ryou's little noises grew louder. He stepped forward so he could brace one of his forearms against the wall and press his forehead against his arm. Bakura smacked my ass. A loud smack echoed in the living room. My muscles tensed for a moment at the surprise of it, but I growled in pleasure afterwards and he smacked me again.

"Careful, you're next." I sneered. It would have been a smile, but I was too into the moment, too consumed with each thrust sending me deeper and deeper into Ryou's body so the muscles in my face twisted in a vulgar way.

"Good." Bakura smirked. "I want you riled up by the time you get to me."

He reached around and dragged his nails across my chest. Lightly, not enough to show during the fight, but enough to set my nerves on fire. He toyed with one of my nipples and kissed my shoulder.

Ryou reached between his legs and started to toy with his cock. I could tell he wasn't in a hurry yet by the way he brushed his fingers along the shaft instead of squeezing with his palm. Meanwhile, Bakura was teasing the backs of my thighs and squeezing my ass. My fingers dug into Ryou's hips.

"Faster!" Ryou begged.

"Don't disappoint him," Bakura purred in my ear.

I started to hinge my hips faster, pressing harder. Now Ryou meant business with each stroke. The way he tugged on his cock made my stomach tight and eager.

"Help him," I said to Bakura.

Bakura slipped down onto his knees, reaching for Ryou's cock. With a grunt Ryou slapped his hand away, too close to be polite and share himself and thinking only of the mounting euphoria inside of him. Bakura laughed and fondled Ryou's balls instead of his cock. That made Ryou whine and jerk himself faster. I could feel his flesh pulsing around him as he started to come. Good gods we're rough on the carpet.

Ryou dropped to his knees, gasping and glistening in sweat. I bent low in order to kiss his forehead. Then I turned on Bakura. I lifted him up, and braced him against the wall.

"Here." Ryou smeared a few drops of sweat away from their face. Then he took the lube and poured a good amount over my shaft. "Want prep?" Ryou asked Bakura.

"No." He laughed. He narrowed his eyes at me. "Make it rough."

I was happy to oblige. I guided myself in, checked Bakura's face to make sure he was comfortable enough, and then let loose. Bakura clenched his teeth and hissed, flushing in pleasure right off the bat.

"This is an interesting view." Ryou giggled, still on his knees.

He used the wall to push himself to his feet. He leaned forward and started kissing along Bakura's ear. Ryou snatched Bakura's chin and turned his face so they could kiss mouth to mouth. Watching them- holy shit watching them- was hurling me towards orgasm, but I didn't want to come until Bakura did.

"Touch him," I told Ryou, picking up my pace. "And bite him."

A familiar gleam lit up Ryou's eyes. He loved nibbling almost as much as he loved pulling hair. Bakura had his arms wrapped around me, but that didn't stop him from going for Bakura's throat. Ryou worked Bakura's cock with the same determined possessiveness that he used to bring himself to orgasm, and Bakura gasped and tried to plead for more but couldn't get the words out.

Between Ryou's hand and teeth and my cock it only took five more minutes before come sputtered over Ryou's wrist and onto Bakura's belly. Then it was my turn. I closed my eyes, but they were what I imagined as I pounded into Bakura's tight ass.

With a roar I came, and fuck I was tired but I felt great. Ryou was beside me, nibbling on my ear now as I still held Bakura against the wall- he was stocky, but shorter than Ryou and it was easy to hold him up, especially after my noodle binge fueling me with carbs.

"Let's get you washed up." Ryou continued to kiss me. "Then we can take a power nap and go."


	19. Kyubi

While Kek dressed I pulled Ryou to the side and sat him down on one of the empty benches in the locker room. "Okay, kid, we need to have the girlfriend talk."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm not a girl."

He said it with a straight face, like he'd had that conversation more than once before. I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose. "No, I know that, what I mean is- listen, it's been the title of the speech for twenty years now and I'm not going to change it."

Bakura leaned against a locker with his arms crossed, a bemused expression on his face. He couldn't be older than mid-twenties, but something about him always made me feel like I was the kid and he was the real old man. Like Kek, I felt like he'd had a hard road and probably seen some shit in his days, maybe that's why he seemed so old. For the time being I ignored him; he knew how to keep calm. This one in front of me, however, he was the type that . . . well, liked to hold hands, and I couldn't have him crying in the middle of Kek's fight.

"People think boxing is about who can kick the most ass, but they're wrong," I said. "Boxing is a mental sport. If Kek happens to glance at you in between rounds, he can't see you worried or scared. You'll kill his confidence and cost him the match."

"I don't think you have to worry." Bakura shrugged. "Ryou's not one to overreact."

I looked at Ryou. "Just smile at him, okay? Even if you think he's losing."

"I will," he promised with a serious expression on his face.

"Okay, good. Here, I'll show you guys to your seats." I lead them to the audience and left them there to go find Kek in the locker room. As soon as I saw him, I asked, "Nervous?"

He frowned, dressed in his shorts and robe. "You keep asking me that."

"Well?"

"I just want it over with." He stuck out his hands.

I bound them with gauze and tape (where it's legal, not the knuckles). "Remember, pace yourself. You don't have to get a knockout to win. It's about the score cards. Look at the judges between rounds and be confident."

"I just don't want to get mad and kill him. I don't even care if I win." Kek looked away.

"I was like that when I was sixteen, too. But you ain't sixteen anymore. Thank the gods we don't stay kids forever, right? You're not that angry punk anymore." I fake a punch to his chin. He looked miserable. We're all fucked up, but sometimes I forgot that Kek is a little extra fucked up. I give his shoulder a good, hard pat. It worked, the contact made him release some of the tension in his back.

 _One day I asked him about the scars and he recited something in a language I'd never heard. When I asked him if it was Egyptian Arabic, since I knew he grew up in Egypt, he told me it was Old Egyptian – a lesser known dialect, one spoken by priests and magi._

"Look, if you want to through in the towel, you tell me now. Once that bell rings, it's too late."

 _He whispered that his father carved the words, the hieratic, into his back when he was ten._

"I have to do this," Kek said.

 _Because he grew up in a cult that worshiped of some long-dead Pharaoh._

"I have to know," Kek said.

I finished wrapping his left hand.

"Truly know," he repeated the words more to himself than to me.

I slipped on the glove.

"If I'm still the Shadow I used to be."

 _He also confessed, after one of our better workouts, that he'd never seen open sky until he was eleven, or even sunlight. He'd been forced to live underground. I'd like to find his old man and beat his ass if I could, but I get the feeling that Kek may have taken care of that himself._

"Or if I'm finally human now."

Anyone else said human like that and I'd tell them to stop being melodramatic, but I only nod at Kek. I patted his shoulder one more time. It's like a hug, only, y'know, more manly. He looked at me with bright, jewel-toned eyes. I had to admit, his boyfriend is damn good at sewing; the outfit is perfect. Kek doesn't look so much a boxer as an ancient warrior – the type to put heads on spikes. I wouldn't have been surprised is the kid he fought pissed all over himself the moment Kek entered the ring.

We left the locker room, light blinding us, music blaring in our ears along with the cheers from the ground. I walk with him right up to the ropes and stand in my corner as he goes forward. They announce both kids, have the touch gloves, and ring the bell. Sweat beaded across their shoulders. They haven't moved much, but the stage lights baked us, even I and the other coach were sweating, and the ref, and the folk in the front row seats. I couldn't tell which was more intimidating, Kek walking into the ring with his robe billowing behind him, or Kek fighting in the ring with the sweat of his body causing the hieratic on his back to glow.

He controlled the fight. It was a shame he didn't want to continue his career. Most pros started young, he had a knack for boxing. You'd never know how green he was from watching him fight. The rounds go by fast. No huge hits, but I could tell the crowd was found of Kek. He was expressive, able to taunt his opponent with a look instead of trash talk. He had the other kid swinging wild as Kek timed each pop of his glove to his opponent's face. The defending fighter was getting pissed. He'd assumed it'd be an easy fight since he'd never of heard of Kek before. Well, bitch, surprise.

By round five the kid tried cussing at Kek to rile him up, but he got a verbal from the ref for language. Fucking punk, if he spent that energy dodging instead of talking shit, maybe he wouldn't be losing the match. I was proud of Kek, though. He just grinned at the swears like they were kittens batting at his gloves, little cute things that couldn't hurt him.

I glanced at his friends. Bakura leaned back in his chair, smirking. Ryou leaned forward, his jaw a straight line. He was focused, concentrating on Kek's moves. If Kek glanced his way between rounds, Ryou nodded to encourage Kek while Bakura grinned. I underestimated Ryou. I expected him to watch the fight with his hands covering his face and his head turned away every time Kek got hit, but he stayed level-headed - and he makes a damn good robe. Ryou's good people in my book.

In the eighth round Kek knocked the other kid down for a six count. Then again for an eight count. I thought maybe the match would end with a TKO, but then the ninth round came and the bastard head butted Kek, hard. My boy crashed to the mat below, holding above his left eye with his glove. I saw the blood. Stupid, fucking, son-of-a-bitch, head-butting prick!

The judge inspected the gash above Kek's eye. All I could think was how pissed I'd be if Kek won by DQ – I wanted him to fight. I heard him snap at the ref that he was fine. The ref didn't give a single fuck what Kek thought, but after a close look, he decided that the bout could continue. The little shit got a two point deduction for head butting, and they went at it again. My teeth were clenched the entire time. Almost done. C'mon Kek, win this bitch.

The little punk had no self-control. He flailed at Kek, and I noticed that each wild punch pissed Kek off more and more. It reminded me of that first day with the mitts. Something dark and bloodthirsty was starting to seep into Kek's eyes- oh no you don't, Kek. I trained you better than that. Don't lose your temper you already have the match! I was gripping too tightly at the ropes. I had to force my own ass to calm down before I could expect Kek to do the same.

Bakura no longer grinned. He had a different kind of dark look about him that made me shiver. Ryou's face was a mask. I couldn't read him, and I could usually read everybody. Not sure which one of the two scared me more, but I was glad as fuck that I wasn't the one hurting their boyfriend.

Thirty-seven seconds before the bell and Kek hooked, a monstrous fucking blow that made my jaw drop at the sight of it. The kid went down-

Out! He was out!

His mouthpiece flew out of his mouth as soon as he hit the ground, but he was unconscious so he didn't know it.

They announced Kek the winner.

Kek stayed as long as he had to and then he was gone, and I had to run after him. I found him in the locker area, throwing up in the trash can. Yeah, guess he's right. Better he help me with the kids and spare with the guys than fight in matches. He acts frosty, he's really a good kid. He just never had a chance to be when he was younger.

"I told you a hundred times. Don't chug water. You'll puke every time." I shook my head at him. I know that's not why he vomited, and he knows I know, but it's okay.

"Yeah. My bad," he muttered, wiping his mouth.

"Lemme see the eye."

"It's fine."

"Still got to treat it."

He rinsed his mouth out and sat down so I could disinfect the cut. "Even if you hadn't knocked him out that match was yours. You had it from beginning to end."

"I used to fight like him, like a bitch, lashing out and running my mouth. I knocked him cold because he was disgusting me; he reminded me of myself."

"Well? You wanted to know if you were different. Are you?"

Obviously, but I wanted to hear him say it so he could hear it himself.

"I didn't kill him. I didn't… but I still wanted to break his spine and leave him dead on the ground."

"Me too, that fucking little shit would have deserved it, too. He almost got DQ'd twice. Maybe you humbled him a bit."

"I doubt it. Sometimes it takes more than one loss."

"There used to be more respect. Now all these dumb kids watch T.V, and think they can do whatever they want."

He nodded, but in a vague way. I put away the first aid kit and let him change. Last we unwrapped his hands. He looked at the cut above his eye in the mirror, staring at himself for a long time.

"There's blood."

"Yup." I nodded. I knew he was going somewhere, so I let him get there on his own.

"Heh, guess I'm human after all." He smiled.

"Well." I grinned. I was fucking proud of him. "Congratulations."


	20. Ryou 6

I smiled when I saw him after the fight. I smiled because the sight of him was all it took to lift the corners of my mouth. I smiled because the sight of him filled me with joy.

"You did well," I said.

"Can we go home now?" he asked.

"Yes, of course."

I can tell he was upset. His face was neutral, but his fingers were restless. Bakura was upset as well. He didn't like seeing Kek get hit and not being able to do anything about it. It was a little funny because Kek's boxing coach had the "girl-friend talk" with only me. Wrong girl-friend, wrong Bakura, but thanks for trying to look out for Kek.

Hmph, Bakura was a protector, too bad all his life people called him "thief" instead. I can't help but think about it. Even corrupted by Zorc, he still tried to protect me and Marik when it came down to it. And that was Bakura at his worst. That was Bakura when he was"evil." What would he be like at his best? What if Kul Elna didn't burn? What if he grew up with friends and family? What if the Pharaoh hadn't branded him "evil"? I remember the last rpg they played. Diabound, a god ka, all that pain and Bakura kept a pure soul. Until he started fighting the Pharaoh's priests. The more they denied his pain, the darker his soul grew. Why didn't anyone listen to him? Why didn't anyone posses the common sense to know that having a god ka meant that he couldn't be all evil, and that fighting with a god ka equaled having a good reason to fight?

I loved Yugi. We'd always be friends, but I hated the Pharaoh because he didn't look. He just announced Bakura a villain, and to this day I don't think Atem realizes how Bakura suffered.

But, through all that, he still managed to keep Diabound pure. He managed to balance his heart against Ma'at's feather when Atem couldn't.

What kind of person could Bakura have been had Kul Elna not burned? One too good for this world, I suppose.

So the gods destroyed him.

During that fight, I knew he wanted to fly into that ring and beat the tar out of the kid that head butted Kek.

I didn't like seeing Kek hurt, but I had faith in him. I knew he'd win, so I stayed in my seat because I wanted to see how he'd win. He could have killed that kid, easy. Too easy. He didn't, and that meant a lot. I was so proud of him.

I realized I was never going to allow Yugi, Atem, or any of the others to ever to say Kek was a danger to me again. Never. Neither him nor Bakura. They didn't have to write to label them.

We went home. They both needed to be home. We went to bed. Kek laid between us. We didn't talk. I felt Kek tremble, but I waited a moment. Whatever came next wouldn't be easy for him to say, so I gave him time to form his words before saying them.

"I didn't kill him."

"No, you didn't kill him," I said.

"And you still beat him," Bakura said.

Kek curled against me. "Fighting hurts my stomach . . . he fell face down . . it reminded me too much of . . ."

He sat up, ripping the covers away from us all in the movement. His hands were balled into fists in his lap. "I get it. I get that Marik can't remember – because I remember it for him. I get that what I did at Battle City was wrong. I get it. But him? Killing him? Why is that wrong? Why is it? Why?"

"It wasn't." Bakura narrowed his eyes at the scars on Kek's back.

"You wouldn't think so, but everyone else does."

His shoulders shook. He turned to me, like I knew the answer. I only shook my head.

"Stupid Marik. I want him to remember and then tell me to my face why me stopping both of us from getting stabbed by our father was wrong? He owes me that conversation. I don't care if he wants to see me or not- he owes me that much- even if he abandons me again after it."

Bakura blew air out of his mouth. "You deserve that conversation, but I don't think you'll ever get the chance. I've been trying to get him here since the second day, but he just doesn't care… about either of us, apparently."

"What are you doing?" I asked. It's been The Big Question for quite some time, and I thought Bakura might be willing to tell us under the circumstances.

"Stealing."

Of course his master plan was stealing. It would have been. Stealing or playing a game.

I've stolen a hundred grand from various businesses he runs. He doesn't care."

"What are you going to do now?" Kek shifted so he could face us. He looked at Bakura.

"Keep stealing. I figure he'll miss a million."

"Only you," I whispered.

He shrugged. "I'm not spending it. Everything I take is in a secure, foreign account. I don't need money."

He didn't say the rest, but we knew. He didn't need money; he needed Marik.

"Kinda romantic, in its own way." I looked at Kek and my smile faded. "I wish I could fix it somehow. I don't know if what you did was wrong or right . . . but I know what happened to you was definitely wrong."

"Everything was so easy back then. Get mad. Hurt someone. It's hard now." Kek clutched at the sheets.

Bakura nodded. He understood. They'd always understand that about each other in a way I couldn't.

They started laughing. Kek grabbed the covers and dove between us. We tangle together, the three of us. My heartbeat was so fast, and their bodies so warm. After our laughter faded, Kek stared at the ceiling.

"I have to go back to the gym tomorrow. You know, people who don't re-wrack their weights belong in the Shadow Realm."

"And people that still use checks and hold up the line belong in the Shadow Realm." I nodded.

"And people who drop their weights on the floor to pretend their badasses belong in the Shadow Realm."

"And people who make you look in the back for stock although you told them eight times that what they want is sold out – Shadow Realm."

"And people who curl in the squat rack? Shadow Realm."

Bakura chimed in. "And morons who text me at 6:00 a.m. Because they need me to reset their employee password can go right up Zorc's asshole – I swear to the fucking gods."

I chuckled. "You know, the day before you came back someone screamed at me because we didn't ad match, and all I could think was 'gee, I wish I had the Ring so I could transfer their soul to the men's urinal'."

Bakura pretended to gasp. "Ryou, how could you? That would be a grievous mis-use of their powers."

"I thought so, too, actually." I frowned.

"You wouldn't really do it." Bakura snorted.

"I think I would have."

"Maybe, but you'd feel bad and undo it right away."

". . . probably."

We stayed up the whole night, wrapped together, talking, only talking. Our jobs and our favorite restaurants, and Duel Monsters, and our next Monster World campaign. We talked about everything and nothing.

It was odd. They were both upset. I expected us to have sex. They always express themselves better with actions instead of words, so I expected them to swallow their feelings and communicate through grunts and sweat drops. Instead, we talked and laughed, tangled together, an orgy made of words and little caresses of our fingers as we teased this or that each other. We touched each other's scars the most. We all bore scars, mine almost invisible, white on white, theirs a stark contrast compared to the darkness of their skin. It was the softest sort of making love, to brush our fingers against each other's old pains while we talked about dice and character stats.

The sunlight fought against the blinds. I loathed the sight of it. Light meant day and day meant I had to leave my bed and my lovers (whom I'd only loved that night with my voice and fingertips). If only the night rebelled and kept the sky cloaked in beautiful darkness forever so I could have stayed right there for the rest of my life.

The alarm screeched beside me.

"Have fun at work. Shame. This bed is soft." Bakura chuckled.

"Fuck you." Kek crawled over him to get out of bed. Braids still kept his hair in bound rows. "The bed may be soft, but the shower is hot."

That encouraged me to get up. Showers with Kek were amazing.

"Bakura, are you sure you don't want to join us this morning?" I asked. "You can sleep afterward."

"I'll be asleep by the time you're out."

I'd rather him be with us. I don't want him to be left out, but in another way, I think he also does it so he can be alone – in his mind with his thoughts of Marik. It's their time as much as mine and Kek's, so I let Bakura stay in bed.

Sometimes I'm not sure how our house of three functions, but it does. It works wonderfully. It's odd, but I sort of wish Marik was with us. It'd make Bakura happy. I think it'd make Kek happy too, once he admitted that he wanted Marik's acceptance. I was too much of a hopeless romantic, trying to make everyone love everyone. Bakura was right, if 100k didn't convince Marik to come, he probably didn't care enough to come at all. But Bakura was going to shoot for a million, and I was going to keep my fingers crossed for him.

I found Kek in the shower. He kissed me until my lips were raw and we were almost late for work.

AT work the hours slipped by, but I hardly noticed time. My eyes stayed lidded and the nap I took on my lunch break did nothing to revive me. Half asleep, I dreampt of Kek. Nothing specific. Just Kek. The curve of his jaw. The way his teeth peeked out from his lips when he spoke. The way he always showed his truth feelings with his hands. How he crushed me against the bathroom wall after our showers so he could kiss me. I have myself worked into an accidental frenzy by the time I clocked out. I wanted a quickie, and I wanted to pass-out.

That was the plan until I stepped outside and Kek wasn't there. I blinked; then I panicked. I had gotten so used to him meeting me and walking me home that his absence crushed me. Maybe he went home early to sleep. There was nothing I could do about it, so I sighed and turned to walk home alone.

A hand covered my eyes and I jerked. A huge smiled followed as I guessed. "Kek?"

"Shhh." His voice tickled my ear. "I have something for you. I mean, it's probably stupid. I don't know how to do this kind of thing, and I'm sure I'm doing it all wrong, but I wanted to give you these."

He shoved something into my arms, still covering my eyes with his other hand.

I smell roses and my heart rampaged against my ribcage. He kept my eyes covered. From his voice I could tell he'd bet too nervous to speak if I looked at him, so I relaxed in his grip and listened.

"I – I don't know. I wanted to get you something. Because . . . because . . . because I think I – that I'm falling in love with you."

The breath choked in my throat and I was glad Kek had his arms around me because all the cartilage in my knees dissolved with his words. "K-Kek." I managed his name, but that was all I could manage.

He let go of me. I was expecting red roses in my arms. They were always red in the movies, but when the veil of his hands lifted away, I saw two dozen white roses. I buried my face in the blooms and inhaled, allowing my lips to brush against the soft, white petals. When I looked up again, Kek scratched the back of his shoulder and stared at the side walk.

"So . . . so, do you like—"

I didn't let him finish the question. How dare he even ask. Of course I liked the flowers. I loved them. I loved him. No one's ever bought me flowers – or anything – before. And he chose white ones. He thought about what he was buying instead of blindly following a cliché. One arm I kept cradled around the flowers, the other I hooked behind Kek's neck as I stood on my toes, crushing his mouth with a kiss. It took him a moment to process my answer and then he kissed me back, opened mouthed, tongue-probing kisses that made my mouth water.

I was vaguely aware that I stood in front of the store and all the shoppers could see us. I could get fired for kissing in front of the store, but it was hard to worry about it at that moment. The only reason I pulled away was so I could get Kek back to our apartment.

"Walk me home, Kek."

He nodded, a little dazed from our kissing. Instead of hand in hand, we walked arm in arm. I held the flowers with my opposite arm, sniffing them often. Kek wouldn't stop staring at the pavement, but an odd, content smiled played on his face. I tried to think of something to say, but my brain was a hazy mess from sleep deprivation and emotion.

When we got home our mouths reunited. We slipped the clothes away from our bodies. I happened to glance at a note on the t.v. Bakura was out to the store, but I couldn't wait. I needed Kek that instant, and I could tell Kek felt the same when he lifted me up and carried me to our bed. For all our hurry we spent a long time caressing and kissing. He put my fingers in his mouth, one by one, and sucked them gently, tickling my finger tips with his tongue before moving on the other areas. I flicked my tongue against his nipples. My fingers wandered across his back, searching for patches of unscarred skin that can feel my touch.

"Kek," I whispered my impatience in the form of his name. A moment later he's lubed and inside me. My legs wrapped high around his waist, I arched my back and moaned his name. I wanted to call out his name two dozen times, once for each rose, but I lost count.


	21. Bakura 5

When I was a vengeful spirit, I made Ryou deal with all the daily being alive crap. Who cares about laundry detergent when there's a Pharaoh to defeat and a dark god to try and summon into the world?

Thinking back, It's a good thing no one asked me what my logic was during all that because they'd only get ums and erms out of me. There were goals I wanted accomplished, and goals Zorc wanted accomplished, and it was all complicated by Ryou's strong desire to keep all his friends alive – it was an epic, psychological cluster fuck, and I can't untangle it myself let alone explain it to someone else. Remembering any of it hurt my head, but it was hard not to remember as long as I was in Domino City. I needed the fuck out of Domino.

I smirked as I gather the last items on my list. The store begged to be robbed, only a few cameras hid within casings disguised to looked like ceiling fixtures. None of the plain-clothed customers were security, there wasn't even a manager walking the floor. I watch three teenage girls giggling over in the cosmetics section and the first two don't even notice when the third drops a tube of bright red lip-gloss in her school bag. Well, like I said, the store was begging to be robbed. I wouldn't bother, stealing was only fun when it was from great kings or multimillion dollar corporations. Let peasants steal bread, the Thief King steals gold.

I stood in line at the register. Toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, silicon lube, and socks. It's surreal. I'm an ancient tomb-raider who almost succeeded bringing about the end-times, and I'm at the store . . . buying toothpaste.

What the unholy fuck?

Honestly, there was a giddy novelty to the act. Buying socks felt so absurd, so inappropriate, that it was like I broke some great, unspoken taboo, committed the worst of sins against my own nature, but never had to fear punishment for it.

Also, it pleased me to know that common people had access to things like deodorant and shampoo. In Egypt, scented oils for bathing were reserved for the Pharaohs and wealthiest of society. And silicon lubricants?

I. Fucking. Love. The. Future.

Seriously, flax seed oil didn't work half so well.

The apartment was quiet. I expected them to be passed out after staying up all night, but I didn't expect the trail of clothes leading to the back bedroom. They must have had quite the time, Ryou's boxers hung over a lamp shade and Kek's tank top was tangled in a potted plant. I noticed a bouquet of roses laying on the sofa, and that was enough explanation for me. I took the flowers to the kitchen and placed them in a tumbler of water. Being considerate and buying socks. It's a good thing Marik never came back for me. He'd laugh his ass off if he saw how pathetic and human I was now.

I frowned at my own thoughts as I walked to the bathroom and put away my toiletries. We were all smirks and hate and sardonic comments back in those days. I think that's how I fell in love. I was a bronze singing bowl and he was the ringing stick and together we resonated with the exact same sound, a song of pain and anger and hate that no one else knew quite like we did.

But now I was too tired to really hate anything. I . . . just wanted to rest.

Would Marik even recognize me?

I looked in the mirror. Shorter, darker, my hair barely brushed past my shoulders, shaggy instead of daggered, and gray eyes looked at me instead of brown. In an odd way, I looked more like Ryou now than when I wore his body. The expression in the eyes, mostly. It's because I'm just a person now. I look human. No more Zorc. No more demon. Just another useless person. Person was the only word that came close to fitting, except maybe vulnerable and I refused to even think that word in reference to myself. I was no longer the dark spirit that flirted and argued with Marik on a blimp over three years ago, nor was I completely the same tomb-thief on a quest for justice. I lived too long and seen too much to be that thief; the gods ruined my last hopes for justice when they sent Atem back into the world when, by their own laws, he should have gone to Ammit.

Why would Marik waste his time with me now? Mellowed and changed, not nearly as dark as before, hardly even angry at this point . . . weak, I was weak.

Marik had also claimed to be redeemed, so who did that make him? He was an asshole before his darker half took over. I couldn't imagine him being all that good even redeemed.

Then again, Kek was as changed as I was, so who knew?

Regardless, Marik wasn't coming back.

It didn't matter how much I wanted to see him; he wasn't coming back.

I needed to relocate, try to salvage some sort of a life for myself. In Domino, all I could do was wait. Wait for Marik (who apparently never felt about me how I felt about him, and even if he once had – he wouldn't if he saw me now.) Why stay? I kept asking myself why I stayed.

But I knew why. It was because I had two reasons to stay even when I had one hundred to leave.

I trudged to the bedroom, chuckling when I saw the state of it. The lamp that sat on the nightstand was shattered on the ground. The mattress showed, all the sheets ripped away from the corners.

"You missed out on all the fun," Kek muttered as he woke up enough to notice I stood in the doorway and stared at him and Ryou.

"Perhaps for the best – uh, is that blood on your shoulder?" I walked closer to inspect the rust-colored specks.

"What?" Kek sat up and hissed at the movement.

I looked at his back, four lines cut through the left wing and another set interrupted the lettering, Ryou apparently tore through Kek's scars during his ecstasy. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is something wrong?" Ryou rubbed an eye, more asleep than awake.

"No." Kek kissed Ryou's cheek and pushed white ribbons of hair away from his face. "Go back to sleep."

Ryou smiled, eyes still closed.

Kek slipped from the bed and I followed him into the bathroom. He turned and stared at the cuts in the mirror, grinning. "They're nice trophies."

"You kinky fuck." I couldn't help rolling my eyes into my head. "You know, Ryou will feel horrible when he wakes up."

"I like it. It's like he erased some of the Pharaoh's memories and replaced them with our own."

I grabbed disinfectant and started doctoring the cuts on his shoulder. I notice a plethora of other scratches, criss-crossed all over, but those were small and would all heal and fade before evening, only the four top ones were deep. "Gods fucking in the Nile, he tore your back up."

Kek chuckled. "And I enjoyed every minute of it." He gestured out of the bathroom. "I bought you some beer."

I smirked. "I bought us more lube."

"Sounds like a night. Let's wake-up Ryou."

"You wake him up. He's cranky when he's asleep."

I need to get the fuck out of Domino, but I can't seem to manage it.

I have one hundred reasons to get the fuck out of this town.

But I have two reasons to stay.


	22. Ryou 7

"I think I should visit Yugi tonight." I'm walking home with Kek when I get Yugi's third text. I sighed, frowning at the message.

"No, you're mine." Kek wrapped an arm around my shoulders like he was trying to stop me from leaving. "Besides, if you go Bakura will bitch all night. We're almost done with out campaign."

"I know, but I guess Atem's gotten worse these last few days. I think Yugi's having his own, private, little break down."

"Oh gods, what's the Pharaoh pouting about now? It's been over four months; he needs to get over himself."

"You're right." I shrugged.

"Just tell Yugi to sleep with him. It worked well with me and Bakura, didn't it?" He gave me a sly chuckle.

"You're joking, but I'm sure Yugi already is. Yugi sleeps with everybody." I rolled my eyes into the back of my head. "Everybody."

"Wait, wait a minute." Kek let go of me and covered his mouth with his hands. "Is _that_ why you had expired condoms under the sink?"

"It was a long time ago," I felt myself blushing. "We make better friends, honestly."

"Then why do you still sound a little heartbroken?" Kek stared at the cracks in the sidewalk as we walked.

At the time I was heartbroken, although I was the one that told Yugi that I wanted to be friends. I remembered hating how easily he agreed to that, like I wasn't worth even a protest. Not that Yugi thought of it like that, he was trying to be supportive of my decisions. I know that because I know him, but still, _still_ , dammit, _still_ he could have done _something_. Cried. Cursed me and told me to get the fuck out. Kissed me and begged me to stay. Something! Something that showed that it wasn't easy for me to leave.

"It's never easy. When things don't work out." I shook my head.

"Are you going to say that about me and Bakura one day?"

"Kek." I stopped and held his arms. I didn't think before I spoke and it was foolish of me. Most people understand breakups, but I hadn't thought that Kek was so new to everything despite the fact that he wasn't naive to life. "I won't lie to you, sometimes people change and grow apart, or sometimes they work better in one type of relationship (like a friendship) than another (like a romance) even when they have strong feeling for each other- but I swear I can't imagine my life without you. I try to accept the fact that one day Bakura might have to go find his own path, but… I just assumed..."

I didn't mean to get emotional. I was trying to make Kek feel better not break down on the freaking sidewalk, but suddenly there's bright, shining beads tangling in my eyelashes and my cheeks are hotter than before. The thought of either of them not being with me was painful to think about. Physically painful. My fingers throbbed and my throat closed up.

"I thought at least you'd stay. I guess I should have asked? Maybe you'd rather go with Bakura, I never thought-"

"I'll stay." Kek crushed me to his chest. "I don't want Bakura to leave either, but if he does… I'm staying with you."

"I don't want to be alone again. I've been so happy these last four months." I sob into Kek's shirt.

"Me too. It's the first time I've ever got to really be alive."

"Okay." I pull away so I can dry my face and get ahold of myself. "Let's not even think about break-ups. We're going to finish our campaign tonight right?"

Another text _right at that moment_. Damn, Yugi, shit timing.

"I don't have to answer that." I grab Kek's hand instead.

"Maybe… I could go with you? I know Yugi doesn't like me, but I'll try not to start drama. I mean, you spend a lot of time with them, so maybe - I mean, I'm not trying to watch dog you or anything, I just really wanted to be with you tonight wherever you were."

"I wouldn't mind you coming along. Actually, it'd be a relief to have you there with me."

"I mean, as long as Jonouchi isn't there, right?" Kek chuckled, but I could tell he was nervous at the thought.

"He's working tonight. Don't worry."

"Okay, good, I don't fight for free anymore- I'm a professional now." Kek winked.

"I think everyone would like you if they got to know you. Hell, have you ever heard about Jonouchi's dad? He's awful. I think you'd understand Jonouchi in a way the rest of us wouldn't."

"His… dad was bad, too?"

"I mean, maybe not enough to split his mind in half like what happened to you and Marik, but… Jonouchi used to be in gangs, and his dad drinks all the time, and I've heard some stories... I guess he used to be a violent little punk before he and Yugi became friends."

"Huh… maybe I'll apologize for murdering him and see how he takes it."

"Couldn't hurt to try." I shrug.

"Okay, but if I start hanging out with your friends once in awhile- you have to start hanging out with mine."

"I think that'd be fun. I guess I never did before because I still get teased about being girly, and I didn't want to ruin your manly gym rep."

"They bring their dates sometimes. Besides-" Kek grinned like a fiend. "They give me any slack and I'll teach them some manners when we spare in the ring."

We reached the apartment in a better mood. At least until we were in the living room and Bakura walked in with a bowl of popcorn and Kek decided to say, in a very loud voice.

"I still can't believe you slept with Yugi, though!"

My face flushed, a little from anger, a little from embarrassment, mostly because that wasn't something I really wanted Bakura to hear.

"Wait, slept with who?" Bakura jerked his head up from his popcorn.

"No one!" I snapped, but at the same time Kek shouted, "Yugi!"

"Really?" Bakura wrinkled his face. "Wait, you are talking about the time between when you had the Ring and when we came back, right?"

"Of course." I frowned.

"Oh. Thank. The. Gods. Cuz had you somehow managed to fool around before then when you both had your Items I would be projectile vomiting all over your carpet."

Just like that we were all laughing. I fell onto the sofa holding my stomach.

"Okay, can we stop talking about stupid shit and do important things like finish our RPG?" Bakura asked once we settled down.

"Uh, actually..." I bit my bottom lip.

"The Pharaoh is boo-hoo-hooing about how hard life is and won't get out of bed, so Ryou's going to keep Yugi company for the night."

"Well, then I better put this popcorn in a bag."

"To save it for tomorrow?" I asked.

"Hell no, I'll eat it on the way to Yugi's."

" _You_ want to go too?" I stood back up, frowning. I believed Kek was trying to grow as a person when he asked to go- as much as I believed that Bakura was already plotting something.

Bakura didn't answer at first. He disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a paper lunch bag full of popcorn.

"Look," he said, tossing a handful into his mouth and talking with his mouth full. "It's his fucking fault that we're back. We all gotta deal with being alive now, and I'll be damned if I get up every day and put up with this fucking mess called life while he avoids it."

"Bakura, I don't think this is a good idea."

"My dear Ryou, I promise to be on my best behavior." Bakura batted his eyelashes.

"Don't be an asshole." Kek crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm going because I want Yugi to get that we're not two psychopaths tormenting Ryou. It won't do any good if you bust and start trouble."

"See, that's just offensive. Clearly, we're sociopaths and not psychopaths. How you gonna mislabel us like that, Kek?"

"You're missing the point."

"Two options." Bakura continued to eat as he spoke. "You take me with you, or you leave without me and I break into Yugi's place and show up anyway. Popcorn?"

"I guess I better text Yugi and at least warn him you're both coming with me." I didn't know what else to do. I knew Bakura meant it when he said he was going regardless, so I took a handful and started eating.


	23. Bakura 6

"Wh-what are they doing here?" Yugi asked when he opened the door.

"Oh don't worry about us." I shot Yugi with my finger. "We're here to help."

"The last time you said something like that." Yugi narrowed his eyes at me. I never thought I'd really see Yugi Motou look pissed off, but … he was pretty pissed off. "You were setting up your final Shadow RPG."

"Look." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Atem needs some Real Talk, and I think Kek and I are the best two to give it to him."

"Me? When did I get drafted into this?"

"Oh come on." I snorted. "We all know I shouldn't be in a room alone with him."

"I don't know if I'm the best backup." Kek frowned.

"Neither of you are going anywhere _near_ him!" Yugi shouted. I'll give the little panda credit- he looked ready to fight if it meant protecting his precious Pharaoh. "Ryou, why'd you bring them?"

"Yugi, we gave up our gaming night to come here and cheer you up." Ryou gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Oh," Yugi said, deflating. "I'm sorry. Come inside. I'll make tea."

Yugi paced around the kitchen. He was so frazzled that he couldn't even manage making tea. It took him four tries to remember to put water in the kettle instead of just walking to the sink and then back to the stove. We sat and watched, keeping our mouths shut. I was going to talk to Atem before we left that night, but I figured it might go easier if I sat and drank a damn cup of tea first. At least show Yugi that I wasn't here to _kill_ anyone. I mean, I wouldn't have minded finally being able to play kickball with the Pharaoh's head- good times, that'd be- but what was the point? The gods already showed they'd break all the rules for their favorite little child. Me killing him would just make a mess, and he'd probably be back the next day even more whiny and self-entitled than ever before.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Yugi apologized over and over. "I'm sorry. I'd offer a snack, but I haven't been to the store lately. I've just been so worried. Atem's getting worse. He won't even get out of bed."

"Why not?" Ryou asked.

"He feels too bad. I mean, Atem did some . . . mean things – when I first put the Puzzle back together. But he always meant well. He was looking out for me. I don't understand why he failed his Judgment."

I face-palmed. Hard. Fuck-fuckity-fucking hell, what the fuck?

" _What_?" Yugi stared at me.

I sighed and leaned back into my chair. Calm. I told myself to be calm. I was going to have a real fucking conversation for once in my life. I was not going to jump on the table and monologue- I _wanted_ to- but I wasn't going to. Real Talk.

"Has he called Ishizu since he's been back?" I began. I was going to take a slower road to my point. This wasn't about only what happened to _me_. This is about _the problem with Atem_ , and I knew I couldn't talk about Kul Elna without shrieking, so… scenic route it was.

"No? Should he have?"

"I mean, you tell me, Yugi. They pretty much worshipped him as a god. Gave up their lives to serve him. Lived in the dark. Endured horrible hardships in his name. Do you think maybe he should have called her and and least checked up on them?"

"I- he- we didn't think-"

"That's why he failed his trial. He doesn't think of anyone except himself, and those closest to him. He's selfish."

"That's not true," Yugi argued. "And _you're_ selfish, but you balanced."

"You know," Ryou said. "Bakura put that gym teacher's soul in the doll because he threatened me. You said Atem did some 'mean' things, I'm sure it was like Bakura at first, right? Penalty Games and you blacking out and waking up with someone in a coma?"

"Not a coma… not exactly."

"What did he do?" Kek asked, his tone genuinely curious.

"He … hurt some people, but they were bad! And Atem got better!" Yugi insisted, combing his hand through his hair. "He didn't stay bitter like Bakura did. He was a good person once I was able to communicate with him. He tried so hard to do the right things, but the gods still rejected him. He's heartbroken, even though they gave him a second chance." Yugi frowned, shaking his head. I noticed the circles under his eyes, and the lines. Yugi looked like hell, and I'm not sure why that pissed me off? But it did. Yugi sniffed, tears welled up in his eyes. "I try to be strong for him. I try to be cheerful, but he's just so sad."

Yugi cried, head buried in his arms on the table. I rolled my eyes, but Ryou was there to hug him and whisper _there-theres_ at him and kiss the crown of his head. The kettle whistled and Kek got up and fixed tea for everyone.

"When's the last time you slept?" I asked.

Yugi shrugged, his face buried in Ryou's chest instead of the table as if he were hiding from me. Well, so much for tea and pleasant chat. It was time for that Real Talk. I stood up, scrapping the table against the floor, and walked towards the door.

"Wait, Bakura," Ryou sang the words in a sweet voice. Honey-sweet. "I would like to go with you and also speak to Atem, please."

I froze in my tracks.

Here's the thing...

I laugh and scream and make a big deal of everything. I'm that guy, you know? But Ryou? Ryou is my opposite- on the outside. And he was smiling the sweetest whipped-cream of smiles, and stroking Yugi's hair with delicate fingers, and saying everything was going to be okay. And I'm pretty sure that the Pharaoh was about to get a reality check, but not from this Bakura.

"It's okay." Yugi shook his head, wiping away his tears. "It's fine. Bakura's right, I haven't been sleeping. I just need a nap and I'll be fine."

"All right, then. Let's get you to the sofa." Ryou stood, his arm still slung around Yugi. "I'll tuck you in, and you can have a nap while we go and keep Atem company."

"But, Ryou-"

"Oh, don't worry about the Ring Spirit. I promise you he won't do anything I wouldn't do myself."

 _Oh shit!_ Was all I could think as I forced myself not to laugh. I had never seen Ryou this pissed. He looked like he was hosting a tea party, but his words were careful, and I knew what they meant. Ryou and Yugi disappeared into the living room, and a moment later Ryou returned with a very flat, controlled expression on his face.

"Yugi's already asleep, so there will be no screaming at the Pharaoh when we go upstairs." He shot me a pointed look, but at that point I'd already planned to keep my mouth shut. This was going to be the most entertaining thing I'd ever seen and I wasn't going to ruin it.

"Ryou… are you okay?" Kek asked.

"I'm fine." Ryou smiled. "It's just that I don't much appreciate seeing my friends cry. So please, when we go upstairs, let me be the first one to talk to Atem."

I really fucking wish I hadn't already eaten all of my popcorn. Like, fuck, it'd come in handy right about now.

"Shall we?" Ryou locked arms with Kek on one side and me on the other and we marched up the stairs like we were going to a ball.

I couldn't tell if Ryou was keeping us on a figurative leash, or if the gesture was a very specific statement showing that we were a unit, and Atem should think twice before suggesting Ryou not bring us with him. Either way, we entered the bedroom upstairs still linked together, and didn't separate until the door closed and we realized that the room was as dark as possible.

"Kek, open the curtains, please," Ryou said, and a moment later light crashed into the room.

I could hear the intake of the Pharaoh's breath, and saw Atem raising a hand to shield his eyes from the light. He groaned a little, as if the sight of it hurt him.

"Why?" He turned towards his pillow and away from the light.

"I could kill you right now. I really could." Ryou's voice was calm. Not sweet like before, but tempered. "I don't care if you're the Pharaoh. You have no right to behave so badly."

"Ryou?" Atem stumbled with the name, as if he expected it to be me still possessing Ryou like when he wore the Ring.

"Yes, it's me, don't you dare look at me as if I'm somehow Bakura. He's standing right beside me. You can see him, but he's not the one you should be worried about- I am." Ryou marched up to the bed, ripping the pillow from beneath Atem's head and dropping it to the floor. "What is wrong with you? It's been months, you have no reason to sulk. Get up."

"What's the point? I spent my whole life doing what was right, and my heart couldn't even match up to a thief's."

Ryou slapped him.

Kek's eyes grew round and he pressed both hands over his mouth in shock. My own jaw dropped. I _knew_ I needed more popcorn! But as I thought about it, Ryou really shouldn't be the one to do this. I mean, I was going to volunteer because I'm _used_ to being the bad guy, and I was fine with that, but Ryou didn't need to follow in my footsteps.

"Hey, Ryou, maybe calm down, a little?" I moved closer to him in case he really decided to lay into the Pharaoh.

I mean, fuck, it was great to watch, but Ryou would never forgive himself if Yugi stopped talking to him, and I was ready to protect Ryou from himself if I had to.

"I'm calm," Ryou said, and he sounded calm, but when he looked at Atem again, it looked like he was about to start a Shadow Game.

Atem held his cheek, and pure, unadulterated shock filled his eyes.

"You saw it, Atem. You saw it." Ryou's hands fisted at his sides. "The ruined village. The tormented spirits. And you did nothing to make it right. For any of them!"

"They were thieves," Atem repeated.

"They. Were. People."

"Ryou stop," I said. "Stop. Stop. Stop it. Stop. Not right now, okay?"

I didn't want to think about home. I didn't want to think about home at all. Atem's an idiot and I've always accepted that. It was physically fucking painful to watch Ryou try to change it. He wasn't going to get it, so what was the point? What was the point? Nothing mattered. The gods brought the sun into the world for their favorites, and it didn't matter if people like Marik, like Kek, had to suffer in the darkness beneath the ground, or if smoke blotted out the sky even the day after the village burned. The sun wasn't for people like us. It was for Atem. It was for Yugi. It was for the favorites somehow, and we had to steal what light we could if we were going to get any at all. Atem would never understand that need, to steal something that had always been given freely to him.

Ryou slammed his hands onto the bed, framing Atem and leaning close to him to get into his personal space. "Get up. Take a shower. Go downstairs, and _talk to Yugi._ "

"Talk to Yugi?" Atem blinked, clueless as ever.

Ryou growled and marched away from the bed. "Bakura! Do something! I'm going to hit him again!"

You know things are crazy when Ryou's asking me to deal with something. Kek grabbed Ryou and stroked his hair in an attempt to calm him down. I hopped on the bed and crouched over Atem, sitting on his leg and resting my chin in my hand.

"Bakura?"

"Hi."

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to have an adult conversation. Give me a moment, I'm having to roll a few Will checks first."

"You guys didn't do anything to Yugi, did you?" Atem narrowed his eyes.

"Yugi is sleeping on the couch. He's exhausted because he stays up all night worrying about you." I said. "He just had a bit of a nervous breakdown in the kitchen a few minutes ago."

"What?" Atem jerked up, but I grabbed his shoulders and pressed him again the headboard again. "Let him sleep, dammit. We're not done with our chat, yet."

"Bakura, let me go."

I let go of his shoulders, but didn't get off him. "Atem, why haven't you logged onto your online duel monsters account? Seto is throwing a fit."

"Who cares? It's a game?" Atem looked away.

"You do. You care. Games are your thing."

Atem shut his eyes. I felt him shaking beneath me, and I already knew what he was going to say before he even said it.

"3,000 years is too long! It's too long, Bakura! It's too long! I can't… I can't stand it. I need to go back. I need to go back but I _can't_ because I failed my weighing."

"That's right. You did," I spoke in a quiet voice. "And now we're here, and there's nothing we can do except live."

"How?" Atem looked up at him and grabbed his chest. "It hurts so badly."

I glanced behind me, locking eyes with Kek for a moment.

"Like Anubis never closed your chest?" Kek asked.

Atem swallowed, shaking his head in agreement.

"You've… been lying in bed alone this whole time, haven't you?" I asked. I remembered that feeling. Like my chest was still open, but it closed- because I had Kek and Ryou to mend it.

Atem made a noise, not really answering, but I already knew the answer because there was no reason he should still feel opened up like that, unless he isolated himself from the others. I swung off and pulled Atem out of bed.

"What are you doing?" Atem resisted.

"You're taking a shower. Right now. You look like a piece of shit. Your hair's grimy as fuck. when's the last time you changed your clothes?"

"Stop it, Bakura."

"No. You fucking get up or I'll carry you and wash you like a child!"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't care," I grumbled. "It's just fucking resurrection club, okay? You're part of the club. I know this will help, and honestly I'm sick of Ryou stressing out because Yugi's stressed out, so let's fucking fix this." I dragged him to the shower cubicle and got the water going, standing there with my arms crossed over my chest.

"Are you going to watch me undress?" Atem asked.

I snorted. "What? Didn't you ever see people bathing in the Nile as a pharaoh? Think I care if you're naked?" I still turned around.

"Well, you're doing a better job than I did." Ryou still stood in Yugi's bedroom and pressed his back against the wall on the other side of the doorway. "You've gotten him into the shower, and you did it without hitting him."

"Fucking miracles do happen afterall." I gave Ryou a wink, glancing back to make sure Atem was actually in the shower and not pouting in front of it. The steam escaped the master bathroom since the door was open, but I figured that wasn't my problem. Let the Pharaoh suffer a little chill as he showered, spoiled fucking brat. "Tomorrow you need to text Seto and ask him for a job."

"At Kaiba Corp?" Atem shouted through the fogged glass. "He'd make me a janitor."

"Then be a janitor," I snapped back. "And then log into your online Duel Monsters account and bet him a promotion over a card game. Fuck, Atem, it's not that hard."

"Yeah, asshole, even I have a job." Kek laughed.

"You?"

"Yeah, for months now."

"What are you? A hired thug?"

"Atem, I will slap you again!" Ryou shouted.

"I don't care about his fucking opinion." Kek snorted, hugging Ryou a little closer to keep Ryou from charging into the bathroom.

"He works at a gym, asshole." I clenched my teeth.

"Doing what?" Atem laughed.

"Training people and teaching kids, you fucking prick." I smacked the glass shower door. "Unlike you, who's wasted your entire life so far being a freeloader and sleeping in Yugi's bed, Kek has actually gone out into the world, gotten a job, made friends, became a good person. When _he_ goes back to the Tribunal _he'll_ have no problem balancing against a feather."

"Thanks Bakura… that means a lot." Kek's words were thoughtful. I couldn't see his face because I was facing the shower, but I could hear the gratitude in his tone.

I pressed both my hands against the glass, right where Atem's throat lay. How fucking nice would it be if I could phase through the glass and grab hold of that throat? I had to step back when Atem slid the door open, peeking out, his hair looked ridiculous wet.

"Really?" Atem asked. At least he looked serious as he asked the question.

"Really." I exhaled. "We both got jobs. I mean, we sure as hell weren't going to be a burden on Ryou after he took us in. Shit, there's no more Items, Atem. There's not more Penalty Games, and no more destroying the world- or saving it- there's just 100 yen stores where everyone can get shampoo, and game nights, and finding someone to hold onto at night so the last three thousand years don't drown your fucking mind."

Atem's eyes widened. "You… understand? I mean, about feeling like you're drowning… in time."

"Even during our Weighing I understood. That's why I didn't want to fight anymore. I told you back then..." My voice dropped. "I just wanted to go home."

"I'm sorry…" Atem whispered, his eyes lost as he thought of everything but the current moment, and damn if I didn't know that feeling as well. "I should have accepted my fate. It wasn't right to let them force you back with me."

Did this bitch just apologize to me?

"Look." I leaned back against the fogged glass. Atem turned off the water and I handed him a towel. "Getting a job will help, playing games instead is sitting in a corner alone will help, going downstairs and curling up beside Yugi on the couch will help."

"How do you know?" Atem asked, drying himself off with the towel.

"How do I know?" I snorted, gesturing Atem to follow me.

We leaned out of the bathroom doorway. On the other side, Kek was keeping Ryou calm. He stood, nuzzling his nose together with Ryou's and talking in whispers. Kek realized we were watching and he scowled at us, but I just laughed at him, and then I turned towards Atem.

"You can't be the Pharaoh anymore. Not anymore than I'm the Thief King- well, I mean, I'm still a damn good thief, I ain't gonna lie, but those aren't our lives anymore." I looked in his eyes, and for a second, my hatred for him didn't matter, because we were the only two that understood what it was like to die and be trapped for three thousand years, and then have to live again. "You're just regular-ass Atem now. Figure out who that is."

"Is that what you've been doing?" Atem asked. "Figuring out who you are without the Ring or vengeance?"

"Shit no. I don't follow my own good advice, are you kidding me? I'm still as awful as ever."

"Liar." Ryou pulled out his phone.

"I thought you erased that video." I scowled.

"I have 500 more to choose from." Ryou hit play and shoved the phone into Atem's face.

Kek stood on one leg and juggled apples. I snuck up behind him and stole one of the red orbs. Taking a huge bite from it, I wagged my eyebrows for the camera. The audio picked up Ryou's laughter. I remember that day. It was two weeks ago, and we were all off, and we lazed around the apartment like we didn't have a care in the world. One of the few days I managed to think of something other than Marik every five minutes. Because of them, because I had them.

In the video, Kek tossed Ryou the second apple and bit into the last one himself. Then we argued about dinner. Kek insisted on chicken and broccoli and I wanted anything else.

"See?" Ryou asked. "That's just a typical day, Atem. He's not The Spirit Of The Ring anymore. He's actually great to hang out with if you give him half a chance."

"That's only half true. I am great, but not to hang out with. That part is slander."

Atem was smiling at the phone. It was McFuck'n creepy to see him look happy while watching our lame ass home videos.

"I really been missing out, haven't I? Maybe the world doesn't need saving anymore, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I did something for Yugi. What could I do?"

"Cook him dinner, stupid." Kek looked at Atem like he truly was a moron.

"I-I don't know how." Atem laughed, scratching the back of his head. "I really am useless. This is why I've been staying in bed and out of everyone's way. I don't know how to do much of anything."

"Get dressed." Ryou too back his phone. "I'll teach you how to make hamburgers. Those are Yugi's favorite, and they're easy to cook."

"Really? You'll teach me?"

"Consider it my apology for slapping you. I am sorry, by the way. I was upset, but that was no excuse."

"I needed it," Atem said. "I didn't realize… how much stress I was putting on Yugi. I wish he would have talked to me."

"We'll let you get changed." Ryou and Kek disappeared, but I lagged behind.

"We're not friends." I pointed at Atem to make sure I had his attention. "I want to make that clear. I mean, I'm pretty sure clinical depression is the only thing keeping me from experiencing the blood thirsty rage that I normally feel towards you. I did this for Ryou, mostly."

"Why are you depressed?" Atem asked.

"Nunya, we're talking about you right now."

"I mean," Atem finished wiggling into his pants and dropped into a chair near Yugi's computer desk. "Is this all some dumb side effect of seeing Paradise but then getting thrown back down to earth?"

"Yeah." I shrugged. I didn't know what else to say.

"Why would the gods _do_ this to us?"

"You asked for it." I scoffed at him. "Now you have to deal with it. It shouldn't be hard, for you. You already have enough friends. Just hold them for a few nights and you'll be fine."

"Hold them." Atem gave me a bitter laugh. Not going to lie, bitterness fit him like a well-tailored suit. "You make it sound like cuddling will fix the agony in my chest."

"It sort of does." I shrugged. I wandered to the door, cramming my hands into my pockets.

"Is this a trick? It doesn't really make sense."

"What do you want from me? The gods are cruel, Atem. They cracked us open like lobsters, and threw us back on earth like we were used candy wrappers. And all I know is that the only reason I've made it this long…" I opened the door, looking down the stairs where I know Ryou and Kek were waiting. "Is them."

"I didn't want Yugi to be drift wood. I didn't want to cling to him just so I wouldn't down."

"They're not drift wood. They're the shore."


	24. Ryou 8

"When you hit him, I almost cheered!" Kek tossed his head back and laughed. "That was so great! So great! And you're not even going to get into trouble for it because you're nice!"

"Okay, but, I _shouldn't_ have done it," I muttered, my face hot. "Violence is _never right_."

"But it is often sexy." Bakura winked.

"You two encourage enough bad habits in me. Please don't add violence to the list."

"But Ryou." I felt Kek's arms wrap behind me and he nuzzled into my hair. "I love it when you get violent."

I knew he was referring to the bedroom more than slapping Atem. I felt like someone was rubbing habanero sauce right onto my cheeks. How do these two manage to make me blush so much?

"So, um, are we going to finish our game now that we're finally home?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the heat in my cheeks, and the more needy heat in my groin.

"I was thinking of a different sort of game." Kek stroked my chest, and I leaned against him.

"I think Kek has a good idea." Bakura grinned, scooting on the couch so he was closer. "It's a little late for tabletop RPGs."

"It's never too late for RPGs!" I protested.

"True." Bakura laughed. "But I was thinking of something a little more live action."

"Are you going to roll for initiative?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Let's take this to the bedroom." Bakura chuckled, reaching over to the coffee and grabbing my box full of dice.

"Really?" I giggled at Bakura as Kek lifted me up and carried me.

"It might be fun."

"You're fucking nerds." Kek dropped me on the bed and stole the dice from Bakura's hand.

We'd been playing Monster World, so lower numbers were better. I got a 46, Kek a 17, and Bakura fumbled. I was still laughing at Bakura's fumble when Kek leapt on top of me and started biting my neck.

"Does this count as- damage? Or…" My words dissolved into a moan as Kek switched to sucking.

This entire thing was horribly _not planned_ , so I wasn't really sure how to transfer rolls into action, and I was already too distracted to give it much thought. I figured it was my turn for an action, so I peeled Kek's shirt away and ran my hands against his six pack. Shit! He was sexy when he first appeared, but all his hard work training had him looking better than a Michelangelo sculpture, and it was right there for my hands and mouth to enjoy.

I think the sight of Kek topless was too tempting for Bakura as well because he snuck up behind Kek, unzipped his pants, and ran his fingers up and down Kek's lower abs.

"Do… we… need to roll again?" Kek panted as we caressed him into a frenzy.

"I dropped the dice somewhere on the blanket."

"Fuck it, just take off my pants."

Bakura and I both grabbed the hem of his pants at the same time

"I think I have sex dice at the bottom of the cluster," I said as I rolled Kek's balls with my palm until he was grunting.

"I'll check." Bakura crawled over to the nightstand where he'd set down the box. After some digging, he pulled out a pair of large, red dice. He rolled them onto a pillow. "Okay Ryou, fondle his thighs."

I moved my hand over to his thighs and rubbed up and down. Bakura grinned as he watched.

"Okay Kek," a pause while he rolled the dice. "Fondle Ryou's chest."

Kek grabbed at my chest, massaging hard. I arched into his touch, still toying with his thighs.

"What are you doing to me, Bakura?" I asked with a grin.

Bakura rolled again. "Apparently licking you all over."

He traded places with Kek and licked across my collarbone first. Then he worked his way to each nipple, only licking because of the dice prompt, although I really wanted him to bite. As he trailed down my stomach and teased my thighs with his tongue, Kek called out.

"Ryou, rub Bakura's chest- what the hell's the difference between rubbing and fondling?"

I made a distracted _i-don't-know_ sound as I circled my palm just above both Bakura's nipples.

"I have to… massage above the waist. That's the entirely wrong half I want to be massaging." Kek pouted before shifting behind Bakura and rubbing his shoulders.

I reached out for the dice, and tossed them, but I couldn't see what I'd thrown. "Someone read that for me?"

"Uh…" Bakura hummed in a distracted voice. "Fondle all over- these should be called sexually frustrated dice, what the fuck."

But he'd already said it, so I was going to do it. I moved down from his chest, to his stomach, then his thighs and ass. I finished by grabbing his cock. Fondle, stroke, whatever, right?

"More like it." Bakura gasped, lidding his eyes.

Kek grabbed the dice. "Massage chest again. Fuck that. Bakura _bite_ his chest."

Bakura bent down and started nibbling on my nipples, just like I'd wanted.

"Kek, I like how you play," I moaned, raising up my chest for Bakura's mouth.

"Lick below waist," Kek read out loud. "About time these damn dice tell me to do something good.

He pulled Bakura away and slammed him down on his back. Kek dipped down and laved his tongue up the length of Bakura's cock. Bakura grunted, fisting the sheets. I had to searched for the dice for a moment, but when I found them I rolled and got "kiss back." How fortuitous considering our current position.

I pressed soft, delicate kisses along Kek's wings, and then travelled across the writing that marked his skin.

"Don't stop," Bakura begged. "Don't stop. I don't care about dice anymore."

Kek dropped his mouth over Bakura's cock instead of re-rolling. He sucked up and down and Bakura whimpered in ecstasy. Once I finished kissing Kek's scars, I grabbed the dice again and got "fondle below waist," so I found our bottle of lube and slicked my hands. I started stroking Kek with my left hand, and inserted a finger from my right hand up his ass. Kek moaned, his mouth still full of Bakura's cock and the vibrations must have felt nice because Bakura called out as Kek moaned. The sound of both of them making pleasure noises had my cock throbbing, but my hands were full, so I added another finger and continued to stroke him.

"Ignore the dice, Ryou. Fuck me!" Kek rose his head up long enough to plea.

He sounded so wound up and needy that I couldn't refuse him. I poured more lube into my palm, greased my cock with gel, and slipped into his ass. He groaned, lips sealed once again on Bakura's shaft. I held Kek's hips and rammed into him. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Gods, he felt so good hugging my cock. The sight of his muscular back and gorgeous, wild hair, was enough to stop my heart. And Bakura below him calling at from his blowjob made the scene the perfect sight. Who needed porn when I had these two? They were gorgeous and- fuck- and were right in front of me and- fuck- I wanted them both so much- fuck, fuck, fuck-

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" My thoughts became screams, and I couldn't hold back.

My hips slammed, slammed, slammed, as fucking hard as I could rock them. Kek eased up from his blow job in order to stroke himself. He tried to work Bakura's shaft with his left hand, but his strokes were clumsy as distracted. He was lost in each thrust, whimpering, and making pleading, little desperate sounds.

"Fuck!" Kek cursed with me as he came over Bakura's thigh.

He pressed his forehead against Bakura's stomach for a moment, catching his breath, and then swallowed Bakura's cock again.

"Fuck!" Bakura joined the chorus, bucking his cock deeper into Kek's mouth.

"Kek… I'm coming," I whispered as my entire body burned and trembled.

My body went slack all at once, and pressed a few lazy kisses against Kek's tail bone and he continued to suck.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Bakura continued to swear, and then his profanity turned into high pitched vowels as he poured into Kek's mouth.

"I think I lost the other dice, too." I exhaled a satisfied breath, scanning for either pair of dice and finding only wrinkled bedsheets.

"I'm sure we'll roll on them in our sleep." Bakura laughed.

"Nerd." Kek dropped to one side of Bakura and I had the difficult task of choosing between spooning against Kek's back, or using Bakura's chest as a pillow. But how was I supposed to chose between paradise and heaven?

"We found the suitcases below the bed," Kek said.

That helped me make my choice. I remembered that Bakura wasn't ours to keep, and I curled up against his chest and sighed because I didn't want to lose him.

"Yeah..."

"You left job listings open on your browser last week."

"The first six months went by… too quickly. I figured I should at least get an idea of what's available. I have-" Bakura sighed, "-well, if nothing else, Marik's money means I could go just about my entire life without a job, but I'd rather do something."

"Bakura- don't go."

I sucked in a breath when I heard the words. It was exactly what I'd been thinking. I was even working my jaw and preparing to say it, but it was Kek that grabbed Bakura's shoulders and rested his forehead on Bakura's chest.

"Fuck, you two could almost make me stay." Bakura groaned and closed his eyes, as if he were trying to shut us out so he didn't have to accept we were real. "But I can't move on as long as I'm here."

"What about Kyoto?" My chest felt tight. My throat felt tight.

Maybe I'm selfish and greedy for wanting them both, but I don't care. Kek was selfish and greedy too, and he agreed that Bakura should stay. We talked about it often, holding hands while we walked to work and grieved for the lover we knew we'd lose at the end of the year.

"Kyoto?" Bakura asked.

"Or Tokyo, or Osaka, who cares. Pick a city in Japan and we'll move with you."

"That's tempting… what about all your friends?"

"There's Skype. That's how we talk to Anzu. I can visit them every few months."

"Kek can't just quit his job." Bakura's face wrinkled, as if he wanted to agree, but thought it'd be better if he didn't.

"I can work at any gym," Kek muttered into Bakura's chest.

"Fuck that. You're close to everyone you work with here."

"But I don't-"

Kek sighed, and I knew what he wanted to say, _but I don't love them_. Love. We say it to each other, but not Bakura. Not Bakura because he's leaving, and not Bakura because it's Marik's job to say it first. I wish I knew why Marik was ignoring Bakura. I'd slap him, too, just like I did the Pharaoh.

"-I wouldn't miss them even one tenth as much as I'm going to miss you."

"At least try somewhere like Osaka? For another year?" I rose up enough so that Bakura could see my pleading gaze. "If it's not far enough, then we'll learn English and go to the States with you."

A soft chuckle escaped Bakura's throat. "I really should learn the language if I'm going to run off to another country. You didn't learn much in highschool."

"Well maybe if an asshole-spirit hadn't been possessing me I couldn't have studied harder."

"You should find that guy and smack him upside the head." Bakura grinned.

"Good idea." I gave the back of his head a playful, mock smack.

Bakura laughed, pretending to rub the back of his head. His face grew serious.

"You two… would really rather go with me than stay here?"

"Yes." We both said at once without hesitation.

Bakura looked shocked. Then his face softened. He even smiled.


	25. Marik 2

*****A Marik section... it's about damn time. 8 million apologies about how short it is, but don't worry. His next section is longer and sooner. He's going to become a regular part of the story from here on out.*****

* * *

It's done. It's done and I'm exhausted. It took a lot of bribes and schemes and deals, but there's one more village saved and it's worth all of the weariness I feel. I sat in a hotel room. The scotch is cold in my hand and I press the glass against my throbbing forehead.

Rishid's in a chair opposite of me, a table in between us. He gave me a look that let me know that he had bad news, but business news and not family news, so I'm not too worried. As long as my siblings are okay- I can deal with any other problems the gods throw in my face.

"We need to talk," Rishid said.

"Sure." I lowered my glass and sipped from it.

"There's a leak in the funds. It started small, but it's gone up to half a million dollars in loses."

"What?" I set down the glass.

I almost dropped it when he said half a million. that was… a bit worse than I would have imagined. Rishid showed me his laptop screen with a list of dates and numbers and accounts. I saw the pattern right away. A pattern every one else would have missed. All the money was in one's and zero's. It was a little binary game created by a nerd- a thief and a stealer of my fucking money. I guess he missed me more than he let but on over the phone. A huge smile cut across my face and Rishid stared at me like I was insane.

"What do you make of it?" He asked.

"It's a love letter." I looked up at him, then back down.

I grabbed the napkin beneath my drink and a stray pen and started writing down the letters the binary spelled out, but I kept the message to myself. Wasn't long before I was blushing.

"It looks like theft to me," Rishid said.

"Yes. It is. How else would a thief write a love letter?"

"Do you mean it's him?" Rishid asked, finally understanding.

"Yes. Rishid, please prepare my jet."

"Not the yacht?"

"No, I don't have time to sail. I've made him wait long enough."


	26. Kek 7

I sat with Ryou on the floor playing Rummy. Beside us, Bakura curled onto the sofa with his laptop. He was supposed to be checking for apartments in Osaka, but by the sound effects and his cursing, it was pretty obvious he was playing Duel Monsters online.

"Well fuck me sideways on the ceiling with a roasted turkey leg, the Mighty Pharaoh just signed into his Duel Monsters account."

"How did you just say that entire sentence with a straight face?" Ryou wrinkled his nose.

"I know right? Atem's actually online. It's astounding."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Are you going to play him?" I asked.

"Can't, I'm playing Seto right now. You can probably hear him screaming all the way from Kaiba Corp If you listen for it." Bakura chuckled. "He can't challenge Atem unless he forfeits our game first. The decision has to be eating him up inside."

"He better hurry up before someone else challenges him," Ryou said.

""Ha, he just gave up. The bastard couldn't take it any longer. You guys should come up here and watch this game with me."

It sounded like a good idea, so I set down my cards and curled up to Bakura's right side while Ryou took his left. We rested our heads on his shoulder and watched the screen as each player set up their cards.

"I never thought our little talk with the Pharaoh would have actually worked, but first Seto emails me saying I had a special new employee account to set up, and now he's finally online. Kaiba better kick his ass."

"So did Kaiba make Atem a janitor?" Ryou asked.

"No, he's in the mail room. Hehe, and guess who picks out the security codes? That would be me."

Bakura grinned the most magnificent grin, and I found myself matching it. "What did you make his code?"

"PrettyNilePrincess. He has to punch in every time he goes through a door."

"Bakura that's so mean." Ryou managed to keep a straight face for three whole seconds before laughing. I didn't bother trying to hide it- I laughed right away.

"Eh, I'll change it after a few weeks… maybe."

"Sure you will." I winked.

We quieted as the game started. All three of us cheered for Kaiba, and he did well, but in the end, of course the Pharaoh won.

"He only won because Kaiba was drawing the worst cards possible." Ryou pursed his lips as he stared at the screen.

I rolled my eyes. "The Pharaoh won because the gods kiss his ass and let him cheat in life."

"Kaiba will win next time. I'd bet on it," Ryou insisted.

"Bet what?" Bakura raised an eyebrow.

"Kitchen duty for a week."

"Hell, I'll take that bet. At the worst it's one week of Kek not being able to cook chicken."

"See these?" I lifted up my shirt and rubbed my abs. "These muscles you can't keep your hands off of at night? These are made out of all that oatmeal and chicken and greens that I eat."

"That may be true, but Ryou's beautiful, round ass is made out of pastries and those are more fun to eat."

I stick my tongue out at him, but it's hard to be insulted while thinking about Ryou's ass. It's too early for bed, but I wanted to go to the bedroom and get Ryou out of his pants- Bakura too.

"Who's dueling Atem now?" Ryou asks.

"Jounouchi."

"Sounds boring." I stretched like I was tired. "Hey Ryou, let's drag Bakura to the bedroom before he has a chance to play next and embarrass himself by losing against PrettyNilePrincess."

"You know, Bakura." Ryou smiled. "I could hack into his account and make that his sign in name as well."

"Is that your attempt at foreplay?" Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Because it's working. Although if you did, you know I'd be the one to get blamed for it."

"That makes it the perfect crime." Ryou toyed with Bakura's white hair.

"You being evil is hot." Bakura winked. "Let's go to the bedroom."

He reached out to close his lap and froze, eye growing wide. Something in my stomach tightened and the hair prickled against my neck. I'm not sure why, but I feel a sense of dread creep over my skin because of the way his complexion waned before my eyes.

"Bakura? What is it?" I asked.

"Marik's online," he whispered back to me, hardly breathing as he spoke.

 _Oh no_ , I thought as I looked at the screen. _Oh no. Oh no._

It's the first time he's been online since we've been back. A message box appeared at the bottom of Bakura's screen.

" _Hey_."

" _Hey_." Bakura typed back.

The dread in my stomach is heavy and twisted. Bakura will leave us after all. We finally convinced him to stay, but he'll leave us after all. And it hurt. Anubis might as well crack open my chest and pull out my heart because that's what it feels like.

I'm happy that I don't have to leave the gym. I haven't even been able to bring it up to Kyubi yet. But I _would have_ … I would have for Bakura…

I'm happy for Bakura though. I am. I am, but damn it still hurts, and I can't breath.

" _So…_ " Marik typed, and then there was another pause before he added, " _I think I lost some cash. Any guesses where I may have dropped it?_ "

"No you asshole!" I yelled at the monitor like that could make Marik somehow hear me. "Who cares about the money- ask Bakura how he's doing!"

Bakura chuckled, much too softly for my preference. "Kek, have you been so long removed from your other half that you forgot how he is?" Then he typed. " _Maybe the aquarium? Or perhaps the pier?_ "

"Don't play his game. Dammit, Bakura just say you want to see him! You two are stupid!"

"Yeah," Ryou agreed. "Forget the usually _tete-a-tete_. Just tell him you love him."

"Ha, no way." Bakura shook his head.

" _Good idea. I'm actually in Domino right now_ ," Marik responded.

Bakura looked haunted, his face taunt. He stared at the screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard, but refusing to type. Marik responded again.

" _Mind if I stop by?_ "

"Asshole." Bakura closed his eyes. "You're such an asshole. Why not three weeks sooner? Why now? We're suppose to move to Osaka now."

Despite the pain in my chest, I grabbed the laptop. Bakura reached for it, but Ryou held his wrists. I stared at the message box. Part of me wanted to write _fuck off he's ours now_ , but whatever person I've become over the last six months took over and did the right thing. I typed.

"I'd like that. I need to see you again."

"Don't you fucking send that!" Bakura shouted. "Tell him no! Tell him I'm busy!"

"Blow me, Bakura."

I hit send.

"Dammit, Kek!" he growled, but I didn't care. Let him be mad at us. That'll make it easier for him to say goodbye.

"You'll thank me later," I tried to joke, but I wanted to scream and tell him not to go.

I notice the screen shift as Marik added another message.

" _Then open the door. I'm right outside._ "

We all froze that time. Shocked, we're all shocked. I don't know why. It's Marik, of course he wanted to make an entrance, but I expected a little more time. At least enough to get away and go to the sports bar until Marik left.

Ryou started crying. He buried his face against Bakura's shoulder.

Bakura's breath rasped in his chest. For some reason it made me think of our first night together. Marik was such a shit. He could have at least let us have one last night together. He didn't have to just appear like this.

"I can't." Bakura shook his head. "I can't even move."

It fucking hurt. It hurt bad. I didn't want him to go. I didn't want him to go. I stood and walked to the door and opened it, smirking somehow. I was breaking inside, but my face was as proud and sinister as it ever was during Battle City.

If nothing else, I didn't want my alternate self see me break down. He hadn't earned that. So I grinned, I grinned, I grinned.

"What's up, bitch? Long time no see."


	27. Marik 3

I was not expecting _him_.

At first I didn't realize who it was. I saw a caramel pile of muscles and sinew answering the door and was about to blush and apologize for having the wrong address, but then I noticed the hair and I jumped backwards on instinct. I stared at him. He said something, but it didn't register, all I could do was stare at him… he looked like a stranger. Maybe a cousin that I'd never met before. His face is different. It's… human? I don't want to think of it. It seems like a trick, that there was actually more than the sinister grin on the surface of his face, but I _could see more_. I could tell he's not used to lying because his eyes are a shipwreck of different emotions.

"It's… you," I said. Brilliant introduction that it was. But how could I say anything else? My alter ego was the last person I expected to find at Ryou's apartment.

"Yes. Me. Kek."

"Kek?"

"That's who I am now. I got to choose… this is what I chose."

I nodded. It's odd, but… I'm glad he has a name now. He never picked one when he was an emotional fragment in my head. I'd say I was proud of him, but that would sound like I was mocking him, so I just try to look him in the eyes, like he's a person and not a rejected figment of emotion I didn't want when I was ten.

"Look… I know I owe you a conversation-"

"Yes. A long one."

"Yes," I agreed. "But-"

"But right now we're talking about Bakura."

"No, right now we're trying to see Bakura." I peek over his shoulder, literally trying to see Bakura.

Kek shut the door to stop me from even catching a glimpse. I glared at him.

"What the hell-"

"No, you fucking listen. _Actually listen_ _and don't argue_. Bakura's … not exactly the same as you might remember."

"What? Is he worse?" I tried to laugh. "I mean, how much more of an asshole can he be?"

"No, no. he's… okay. He's… great. But he's stupid, and he'll try to act like a badass in front of you, and… just-" Kek slammed his eyes shut and bit his bottom lip.

My mouth dropped. It was weird to see my alter like this. I wasn't sure what it meant. He opened his eyes, slowly and leaned close to whisper into my ear.

"If you hurt him anymore than you already have- If you break his heart- I will kill you. I swear to the fucking gods, I will. Marik-" Kek pulled away, his face grave, but also pleading. "Treat him gently."

I want to ask him what the literal fuck, but before I can manage to do anything short of standing there with my mouth wide open in shock, Kek opened the door and stepped inside, giving me a proper view into the apartment. Ryou's crying and curled against someone sitting on the couch.

My mouth dried, and my chest freaked out in my chest. He was shorter, darker than me, and built like a junkyard rottweiler, but I knew it was him. My Thief. It didn't matter what body he was in. I knew him.

 _I dwell in darkness without you. Free me._

That was the message he hid in his thievery.

Bakura whispered to Ryou. My alter- no Kek- knelt down and graced his fingers down Ryou's hair in a reverent way, as if the white belonged to an angel's wing instead of human hair.

"Let's go, Ryou," Kek whispered.

Ryou nodded. He kept saying goodbye. I watched Bakura's lips move. He muttered, _maybe I won't go_ , but Ryou only responded with _goodbye_ again. Ryou grabbed him. Kissed him. My hand reached out and held the door frame. I felt like I'm breaking something, just by being there. I felt guilty.

Ryou ran down the hall, still in tears.

Kek lingered, staring up at Bakura. They both stood at once, Bakura from the couch, Kek from the floor. Kek caressed Bakura's cheek. The expression on his face was tender and I felt like I'd gone mad. If I was to be honest with myself, it was beautiful to watch, but it was hard to _accept_ that my former shadow could be so soft with anyone, let alone Bakura.

 _Treat him gently_.

I hadn't thought much about the words when Kek had said them, but seeing them together was making me realize that Kek had been sincere when he'd spoken.

"It's been fun," Kek said.

Bakura opened his mouth, but his voice failed. Kek smiled at Bakura's silence, and leaned into kiss him as well... slow… deliberate. He walked to whatever backroom Ryou ran to.

"Should I not have come?" I asked, still in the doorway.

Bakura flinched, his eyes were silver. I liked them. He wore a red, unzipped hoodie and a indigo set of boxer shorts. It fit him somehow. He's gorgeous, but I'm not necessarily staring at his body to check him out. It was just that the curves of his chest were easier to look at than the pain in his eyes.

"I got your message," I said.

"Marik," Bakura closed his eyes, swallowed. "I wanted to see you, but I was beginning to think you didn't want to see me."

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. He was right. I yelled at him on the phone, afraid of letting my emotions slip through and cloud my judgement when I had an important job to do, and then I ignored him for six months. I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me.

"It's a long story."

"Yeah, guess mine is too." Bakura shrugged.

"Tell me," I took another step forward.

Bakura sighed. I hated the sad look in his eyes. I took yet another step toward him, wanting to run to him. Aching to, but I wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do.

"When they sent us back, the gods, we were broken. All three of us, even Atem. Our souls were like clay jars the gods tossed back to the earth. Ma'at said you'd come. She said you'd come for me, but she never said you'd take six months, and I was shattered. I needed glue to hold myself together."

I still wasn't sure what to do, but he looked so sad, so lonely standing there. I couldn't take it anymore. I ran across the living room and pulled him to my chest.


	28. Bakura 7

Damn him. Damn him. _Damn him._ What is it about Marik that I can't shake from my soul? We hardly even knew each other, but whenever he's near me I forget that fact. Something about _us_ feels like _always was_ and the second he wrapped his arms around me, I collapsed into his hold.

I shouldn't do it. I should stand and face him. I should scream at him for being a bastard. I couldn't speak. I was too busy sucking in the scent of him and feeling like this _has always been_. Marik muttered my name but I wouldn't answer him. I'd been holding myself together best I could all this time, but now I've finally collapsed inside and I don't have the strength to fake okay anymore.

"Bakura…"

"Six months," I finally hissed into his chest. "I stole half a million dollars, but you didn't care. It was like losing the money was worth not having to deal with me."

"No. No, Bakura. I just found out. I've been off the grid."

" _Where_?"

"Ghana. A small town. They were going to build a gold mine in their backyard and it was going to make the land _unlivable_. I had a way to stop it but it involved a lot of time and negotiating." Marik pressed his forehead against mine. His skin was burning hot, as if his brain was short circuiting. "The night you called, I was flying out to Accra. I wanted to change the flight. Not doing so was the hardest thing I've done since I was a child, but I couldn't abandon those people… I couldn't."

"Why didn't you just _tell me_?"

"I didn't want to tell you. I couldn't tell you. _Hey Bakura, I know you're eager to go kill the Pharaoh again, but actually I've decided to go rescue a village instead so I'll call you as soon as I'm back in Egypt. Bye._ " Marik have a bitter laugh. "You would have sneered at me, and called me weak, and broke my heart. I couldn't stand it, so… I avoided it."

I had to laugh then. For a former criminal genius, Marik was an idiot. I dragged him back to the couch, still too overwhelmed to stand in my own, and we crashed onto the cushions together. Marik ended up straddled over my lap, but I wasn't going to complain about the position if he didn't.

Holy shit? I'm trying to imagine Marik taking on an entire government to save a single village- save them from being destroyed by gold that would be worn by the privileged of the world with no consideration of the human cost. Holy shit…

All this time I've been barely keeping my shit together, but Marik … Marik became a savior. An angel of justice. The sort of person I would have wanted to become if I'd stopped and thought about it instead getting ploughed over in my own anger and pain. The exact sort of person I would have wanted to be if I'd ever felt like I had a choice, but instead I took the Ring and lost all my choices.

"Bakura?" A faint wash of mauve won over Marik's face despite his complexion. "I can't read the look on your face."

Because it was amazement. It was pride. It was reverence. I couldn't say any of that though, all I could do was look up at him and try to process what Marik had done. What he'd become since the last time I saw him. But he must have mistook my awe-induced silence as some sort of bad sign because tears filled his eyes and spilled down his cheeks, and he spoke in a soft rush of words.

"Bakura… Bakura… when you died, I died. When you died, I died. But I'd already made my choice in Battle City to live and I couldn't go back on that. The experience changed me too much. I needed a reason to keep going, though, so I took all the money I had from the Ghouls and I started projects to help people. I built schools and clinics- with my own hands." Marik gave a sobby laugh and wiped tears away from his nostrils. "I funded them, but I physically helped build them, too. Digging wells, setting up irrigation systems, keeping Western influence from capitalizing on people's pain? It's the only thing that made me happy. It was the only way to fill the hours without you."

I cupped Marik's face with my hands, still staring at him in silent wonder.

"Funny," Marik muttered. "I don't remember your hands ever being warm."

"Marik," my voice cracked when I tried to whisper his name.

"It was never the Pharaoh. It was the system. The entire system is bad, so that's what I'm fighting now."

"I'm barely figuring out how to be a person. But you? Even after everything you went through," I whispered, refusing to let go of his face, "And all the horrible things you put others through… you still managed to become-"

"A lame ass do-gooder?" Marik gave a nervous laugh.

I brought our faces closer together. "Incredible. Marik, you're incredible."

"Are you really not going to tease me about getting so soft?"

"That first night, I didn't care if you wanted to destroy the world or save it. I just wanted you to take me with you."

He placed his hands over mine. "I'm sorry."


	29. Marik 4

I thought he'd be angry at me. He should be. But, as we were with me stacked on top of him on the couch, I knew he wanted to be kissed. I could tell by his heavy lids, by his parted lips, by the quickness of his breath. He tilted up his face _just right_ , our hands still locked together on my cheeks. I couldn't resist. The groan from his mouth made my groin ache with sweet, tight pressure. Our kiss slurred into others. His lips were never this warm during Battle City, and by the time we broke apart, both of us were gasping for breath. I let go of his hands and brushed my thumb against the darker streak on his cheek. I couldn't stop touching his face, broad, and dark, and scarred. _His face_ , not Ryou's. It was an entirely new experience that I relished.

"I love you," I whispered.

I didn't mean to say it. In fact, hearing the words slip from my mouth caused me to try and bolt from Bakura's lap, but he didn't let me. Instead, he grabbed me and pulled me down to him for another kiss. I tasted salt on my tongue and opened my eyes. He was crying. Bakura was crying.

I stroked his hair and use my silk tie to dry his cheeks. "I'm- I'm sorry-"

He shook his head "no" and held his breath, trying to stop the tears. When he did speak, it was gritty and low.

"Haven't heard that from anyone… in over 3,000 years."

"But Ryou…" I didn't really know how to ask the question. Clearly the other two loved him. It was obvious, painfully so, and even if my other half didn't know how to express that, I couldn't imagine Bakura's old host not saying it.

"Is it weird?" Bakura looked away, his eyes still wet and glassy. "I think they were waiting on you?"

"Me?" I asked.

"To say it first."

"Then they're stupid. They're so stupid. They shouldn't have made you wait so long. What's wrong with them?"

"Idiot." Bakura laughed, drying his cheeks. "You're the one that took so long."

I groaned. I didn't have a good argument against what Bakura said. I had taken too long. I sat back a little, looking off towards the kitchen.

"So how'd you all end up together anyway?"

Bakura swallowed. His throat clicked. "I told you. We were broken, all three of us, and Ryou- you know how Ryou is. He insisted that Kek and I stay with him."

"Wasn't he afraid?"

"No… all the stuff I put him through… he's jaded towards the darkness at this point, and we weren't capable of really causing any harm. Coming back… it's an awful feeling. It's a bit like being a newborn, exactly like it, I guess. You're vulnerable. You need held. I broke down and he kissed me." Bakura shrugged. "We think it was the last echo of you in his mind, even as he was becoming a separate person, but it was there, and it's been done, and we were broken, so we didn't stop."

"What about Ryou?"

"Later. Bastard was too polite to initiate anything, so I finally just kissed him and got it over with."

"Hmm." I smiled as I listened to him speak.

I expected to be jealous hearing him talk about them. I know I'm a possessive asshole, but oddly enough, instead of jealous- I was fascinated. I sort of wanted to hear more. Much more. I blinked, grabbing Bakura and holding him to distract myself from my own strange thoughts.

"Marik…" Bakura's breath left his mouth in a small gasp as he spoke my name.

"Yes?" I asked as my fingers found their way into his hair.

"I love you, too."

"Bakura-" I pressed my lips against his again.

Fuck. I think we're both crying now. This is not how I expected our reunion to be, all soft kisses and hearts drowning in too many emotions to sort. I'd been prepared for hot, quick banter, maybe a duel, but honestly… this was better, and I love how delicate his lips feel against mine, and the way his fingers tremble as they drag through my hair and down my neck.

The gods are cruel. No one should suffer 3,000 years alone. No one should go millennia without hearing that they were loved, but I'm going to make damn sure he doesn't wait 3,000 years to hear it again.


	30. Ryou 9

The only sound of them is the soft rustle of their clothes and bodies in the sofa. I have a suitcase in my hand, and Kek is behind me with two more. As we reach the end of the hall, I can hear Marik whispering _I love you_ over and over again as they sat together on the couch. Bakura's giggling, and sniffing a few stray tears away.

Good. I'm glad Marik finally said it. It's about time Bakura heard it, and his laughter makes me feel like this is going to be okay. I'm going to miss Bakura. His leaving has already shattered my heart, but it's okay because he's going to be happy, and I need that for him. _I need it_. I drop the suitcase on the floor and clear my throat so they can notice our presence.

Marik twisted to look at us. He has a cute hand-caught-in-the-cookie-jar look on his face although they hadn't been doing anything even remotely explicit.

"Are those my suitcases?" Bakura asked. "What are you doing with them?"

"We packed all your things for you."

"Yeah, it's gtfo time." Kek set the other two suitcases next to the first one.

"You're that eager to get rid of me?" Bakura raised an eyebrow, smiling, just like I was smiling.

We paused and faked smiles at each other, but I could see it in his eyes, he was torn. That's why Kek and I packed his things, and that's why we were going to kick him out before he had a chance to get cold feet about leaving on his own. Because we loved him that much, so we were going to let him go.

"Nothing personal." Kek waived his hand in the air as if he didn't care about any of this, although I knew better, and Bakura must have as well.

"Yeah… guess we knew it was probably going to come to this." Bakura's smile broke.

Not all at once, it didn't shatter. The corners of his mouth twitched downward, then raised again as if he'd be able to hold the expression afterall, but then the muscles relaxed and hung until he was frowning. His eyes were already red from tears, but they brightened again, like he might start up again. It was killing me, to watch. Dammit Bakura, leave us and be happy. You were suppose to be happy about this. _We're_ the ones that should be sad- Kek and I. We're the ones losing _you_ , so don't make this harder by being sad with us.

I couldn't bear it. I couldn't bear him sad. Kek rested his hand on my shoulder. He knew me well enough to know I wanted to jump on the couch beside them and beg them to stay. I knew he should go, but I wanted him to stay so bad. My fingers twitched, as if trying to grab Bakura on their own. I stared at his suitcases.

"Maybe you can visit some time…"

"Or at least invite us to the wedding," Kek joked.

And the honeymoon, and then we could all move into a huge house. This was so stupid! I'd rather gain a Marik than lose a Bakura. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair, we all loved him.

"Bakura, I love you…"

There I go again without my filter on. I think it, and then say it. I'm so bad about that with Bakura. We shared thoughts once, so it's hard not to do around him. But what did it matter now? Marik had said it. We saved that for him, and it was done, so I should at least to get to say it once too… maybe twice.

"Bakura, I love you, but it's time for you to go now." I bit my bottom lip.

"Dammit Ryou, dammit." Kek's voice was tight. He was holding back tears; I could hear it in his voice.

I turned towards him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. He crushed my fingers in his grip, his free hand tugging at his spikes as he slammed his eyes shut.

"Bakura, get the fuck out of here already. If you stay any longer I'm going to lose my shit in front of everyone."

"Kek…"

Marik slid off of Bakura's lap so Bakura could stand and grab Kek, holding him tightly. I caved then, throwing my arms around them both. We held together like that for a desperate moment before Kek pushed Bakura away.

"Go!" He screamed, tears glimmering in the corners of his eyes. His hand clenched at his tanktop where his heart hid behind his ribcage. "Go! This hurts! This hurts more than the knife! That was fun, but this is killing me!"

"Okay," Bakura's voice cracked. "Okay. C'mon Marik, we have to go-"

"Wait!" Marik jumped up, distressed. We all turned to look at him. He toyed with his tie, not looking any of us. "Um, look. It's… been a long trip, and. I know. There's hotels, but… checking in is such a pain, and we'd need to find a cab first. I'm too tired for all that… so…"

His jumble of thoughts stopped, like a wreck that lost momentum, but a little smile lit up my face because I knew what he was doing.

"Oh," my voice was high-pitched with emotions, but I cleared my throat and forced the words out without more tears. "Where are my manners? I'm sorry. Marik, you've traveled so far today, of course you're too tired to find a hotel this time of night. Would you like to stay here tonight?"


	31. Kek 8

What was he doing? I mean, I know _what_ , but _why_? Why were they doing this? What good would staying an extra night do? Make us suffer until morning? Was Marik going to carry Bakura to bed? Was he going to let us help him undress Bakura?

No. They were going to sleep on the couch- MINE AND BAKURA'S COUCH!

I was done, so done. I marched into the kitchen, flicked off the light- on purpose because I knew how this was going to end- and opened the freezer. There was no light, so I had to crack the fridge opened as well until I found what I wanted, a pint of black sesame ice cream. I snatched the ice cream, and a spoon, and plopped down into the closest chair. I held the carton with my hands, willing it to thaw quicker, and enjoying the numbness the cold brought to my palms.

"Kek? What the hell are you doing here in the dark?" The door opened, ruining my cozy dark hide-a-way with the light and Bakura's silhouette.

"The dark is the only safe place," I said. It sounded far more ominous than I intended it, so I added, "From Marik."

Bakura flicked on the light and I winced and growled, but didn't try to stop him when he sat beside me.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"It's called a fucking cheat day." I dug the spoon into the ice cream then shoved it into my mouth.

"Kek-"

"Fuck you, Bakura. I'm pretty sure it's a universal law of science that you get ice cream when your heart gets broken."

I couldn't swallow because fresh tears seized my throat shut. The spoon dropped somewhere to the floor and I screamed _don't_ when Bakura's hand touched my shoulder. At the same time I clutched him to my chest.

"That was our couch. _It was our couch._ "

"Kek, I don't understand."

"If you and Marik stay the night where will you sleep? On the couch! That was where _we first slept._ "

"Well, actually, we were on the floor." Bakura faked a grin, but I knew it was a fake. It was only half as big as it should have been.

"Next to the couch."

We held each other for a moment longer and I let the tears flow. I didn't see the point in holding them back. Fuck, I earned all these emotions, didn't I? That first night as I held Bakura in my arms while he slept. I fully decided to be human then, and sometimes humans wept.

"Can I come in?" Marik asked from the doorway.

Called it. I fucking called it.

This wouldn't be a problem if the lights were still off. I pulled away from Bakura and stared at my lovely, black ice cream. At least the ice cream was dark even if the room wasn't.

"I'll get some blankets." Bakura stood up and left us alone.

I knew he'd do that too, leave me alone with Marik. And yes, Marik and I needed to talk, but this was self-pity-ice-cream-time and not reconcile-with-the-dominant-personality-time.

"I was thinking about taking some vacation time. I'm pretty worked-out from my last deal…" Marik sat down, analysing me. "Ryou said I could stay here, but I wanted to know how you'd feel about that."

"How long?"

"At least a few weeks… maybe longer. I don't really _need_ to be anywhere. The operation is self-sufficient at this point. Rishid runs it." Marik chuckled. "I just do the fun stuff. The project before this last one was handing out books to kids. It was one of my favorites."

"I teach kids, at the gym. It's more like babysitting than boxing though." I scrub the tears off of my cheeks, calmer now.

"Look… is there somewhere else you want us to sleep? We don't have to sleep on the couch."

"This was inevitable. I knew this would happen, I just…" I shook my head. What could I say?

"Maybe it'd be better if I got a hotel on my own-"

"I don't care that you're here Marik. That doesn't bother me at all. It's not you being here, it's-" fuck, crying again. I'd just stopped. Is this normal or am I too emotional? "It's that he's leaving."

My voice cracked. I had to pause. I didn't even have my spoon, so I had to get a new one just so I could stir the melting ice cream around the carton and not look at Marik even as I continued talking to him.

"And you lingering for two or three weeks is like a slow death instead of a quick one."

"He's not a jacket I'm taking with me, you know."

"Yeah, I know it's not like that, but it hurts less to pretend it's like that. We just want Bakura happy."

I take a bite. It's that perfect melted texture. At least the calories will be worth it.

"Does that have dairy in it? Why are you eating it?" Marik winked his nose.

"Because it's good." I press a loaded spoon up to Marik's lips. "Taste it."

Marik frowned. "We don't' eat animal products."

"I do. Taste it. I promise you won't lose your vegan status with just a bite."

With a muffled growl (that I'm quite familiar with), Marik lets me feed him from my spoon. His eyes rounded and he licked his lips. "That's… really good."

"So are cheeseburgers." I chuckled, drying my cheeks yet again. "Don't worry. I won't make you try one of those."

"Yeah, that's a little much." Marik snorted, drawing on the table. "You know, there's another reason I should stay a bit, so I can talk to you. I just feel… like it's something that has to happen."

"Yeah." I nod between bites. "I can feel it too."

"I'm not happy to see you like this, crying, but… well, I guess I am, in a way. Not out of any sadistic impulse. But… because you're human now. It's… weird to see, but I'm happy for you, and… would it sound condescending if I said I was proud of how much you've grown? I'm… I'm sorry I wasn't very good at taking care of the system." Marik looked away. "I'm sorry, Kek. I'm sorry."

Damn, I'm crying again.


	32. Bakura 8

*****If you like my stories, please consider following me on ao3. I'm going to keep updating this fic, but I won't be posting new fics on here in the future. There's a gate-keeping group on here that harasses people for adult content, and I've already had to take down two stories because of them, so I'm sticking to archive of our own where adult content is allowed. You can also follow me on Tumblr for fic updates. Thanks!*****

* * *

I make up the couch with linen and pillows. I remembered doing this with Kek. He was right. It _is_ our couch. I feel like such an asshole. Ryou tapped my shoulder and distracted my thoughts.

"Something wrong?" I asked, as if I didn't already know that my leaving was very much wrong as far as Ryou and Kek were concerned.

"Come see," Ryou whispered, sneaking to the kitchen with his cellphone in camera mode- Ryou forever with that damn cell phone.

We dropped to our knees, peeking through the crack in the kitchen door. Kek and Marik were laughing, talking about something from childhood. Occasionally Kek would shove his spoon at Marik. Each time Marik would furrow his brow, and argue, but each time he ended up opening his mouth and taking another bite. After a few more rounds of sharing from the container, Kek frowned at his empty ice cream carton. He sighed, stood up, and stretched.

"Guess we should go to bed." Kek scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah." Marik stood up, frowning at the door. "Ryou, are you filming this?"

How the fuck did he even see us? Ryou didn't care though. He pushed open the door all the way and rested on his side to get a better shot.

"Why shouldn't I? You're both getting along and it's adorable. I need to capture this moment for later."

"If you're going to stay for a few week's," Kek said, "You better get used to being part of the Ryou documentary. He films everything."

"Really?" Marik raised an eyebrow and glanced down at Ryou.

I didn't like where I thought this was going.

"Have any cute ones of Bakura?"

I knew I didn't like where that was going.

"Do I ever." Ryou grinned. "Want me to text you a few?"

"Of course."

I groaned and marched out of the kitchen. I slipped out of my hoodie, but kept my boxers on as I slipped beneath the blankets. It was weird keeping clothes on in bed. It was weird not following Kek and Ryou to the bedroom after they waved goodnight.

They waved goodnight.

Waved.

Like this was a sleepover.

Like I didn't live here anymore.

I wanted to yell at them for it, but I didn't have the right. Malik sat down beside me. He combed his fingers through my hair, and I sighed at the comfort of it.

"You can go with them," Marik whispered.

I shook my head no.

"I didn't mean to make everything awkward," Marik said. "When I read your note, I thought- I didn't take into account how much time had passed."

Fuck, this is all my fault. If I knew how the fuck to let things go… but that was never something I was good at.

"It was from a movie," I muttered, thinking more than speaking. "That note. It's an old movie from the States."

"What movie?" Marik asked.

"No way I'm telling. You'd go watch it." I smiled despite the whirlwind in my chest.

"Oh? Don't want me watching? Is it a sappy rom-com?" A beep rang out from Marik's pocket. He grinned and grabbed his cell phone. "Well then, looks like I'll have to content myself with home movies instead." Marik removed his tie and jacket. He rolled up his sleeves and loosened the top few buttons on his shirt before laying down beside me.

"You have way too many clothes on." I grinned.

"I'm a guest."

"Then you should be polite and at least take off your shirt."

Marik snorted in laughter. "That's hardly polite."

I tried to think of what would be considered polite by our house guest standards, and realized that we've never had anyone over. We've gone out, but no one ever comes by. That wasn't fair to Ryou. He was a little more social.

"You're quiet," Marik said.

"I was thinking maybe Yugi and the others should come by? Didn't you assholes sort of become friends? They'd probably want to see you while you're in town."

"I wouldn't do that to you." Marik frowned. "I know how you feel about the Pharaoh."

"I don't really care. It's all Ressurection Club now." I shook my head. It's hard to explain to someone who never went through their own weighing. The pain, the vulnerability of having your soul measured for all to see (all the gods to see), the agony of returning. "It's not that I've forgiven anything, not really." I stared at the ceiling. "It's just that it's too complicated now to really… feel any one way, about anything. It's like you said earlier. It was never just the Pharaoh- everything was bad."

A strange, tense silence wrapped around us. Marik broke it by loading up the first video.

"Are you going to give me context?'

"I guess." I didn't really want to, but it was better than us laying still and quiet. I stared at the screen. "That was the day of Kek's bout. He'd made his weigh in, so we went to get noodles so he could put some of the weight back on before the fight."

"He fought?"

"It was a boxing match. That's how he got his job. Now he just trains, though." I sighed. "Marik… it's hard to explain, but-"

"I know." Marik cut me off. "You don't have to explain. I can tell. The few minutes in the kitchen were all I needed to know how different he is."

How great he is. Marik shouldn't just know that he was different. He should know that Kek was fucking phenomenal. Ryou too. We bullied Ryou around during Battle City, but we should have taken better care of him- _I should have taken better care of him_.

"So what's this?"

"Me laughing on the floor."

"Yes. Obviously. Why?"

"Uh… I think I'd had three beers?"

"Three beers is all it takes to have you literally rolling on the floor laughing?"

"It's not the same as the beer I drank as a child."

Marik laughed. "Maybe I should buy a six pack then. What's this video?"

"Horror movie marathon."

"If it's horror, why are you all laughing?"

"Watching dumb kids getting stabbed for being morons is really funny."

"Fair enough. You laughed when you stabbed yourself, too."

"Yeah… I don't really remember why that was funny, though. Zorc is a helluva drug."

"The Items in general," Marik agreed. "This is the last one."

"Don't watch that one." I grabbed the phone.

"Why not?" Marik smirked, trying to take his phone back.

"That was my first morning back. You shouldn't see it."

"Why? Are you adorable?"

"I'm naked."

"So what?"

"So's Kek."

"I already know you slept with him."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes. "Watch, whatever. There's no arguing with you."

"Not really." Marik smirked.

He watched the short film. I did, too. If anyone else had sent it, I would have thought they were doing it to hurt me. Remind me of what I was going to leave behind, but I know Ryou. He wanted Marik to see that first morning. He wanted to see both me _and_ Kek.

"You look really happy in all of these." Marik's smirk softened to a warm smile.

"Yeah, it wasn't all bad," I confessed. "I wished you were there, too, though."

"Wished I was there, too?" Marik chuckled in a soft voice. "In addition?"

"I guess so." I laughed at myself. "That is how I said it."

"I'm here now." Marik set his phone aside. Ryou left a lamp on and soft light made Marik's skin glow.

I grabbed him, and buried my face against his chest, sucking in the aroma of his cologne and skin. The only problem was, wrapped up in the blankets as we were, I could still smell Ryou and Kek as well. I fell asleep wrapped in Marik's arms and all of their scents.


	33. Marik 5

*****Just a reminder, I'm going to be posting a new story Friday (it's a fem!citron au for dmbakura's bday), but I'll *only* be posting it on AO3. I'll share the link on Tumblr as well).*****

* * *

The familiar, stiff ache of my back woke me up like always. I moaned and shifted onto my side to try and relieve the pressure on my skin. A broad, warm hand landed on my shoulder and started kneading the muscles below my shirt, and I jerked in shock before remembering where I was and who I was with. I sighed as Bakura's body heat soaked through my shirt and into my skin.

"Morning," Bakura muttered behind me.

"Mmmm," I moaned both to respond and to let him know I didn't want him to stop.

Bakura snickered. I could see his smirk in my mind's eye. Still massaging my shoulders, he leaned forward and kissed the nape of my neck. The feeling of his lips against my skin lit up my nerves. I can hear the shower down the hall, and laughter coming from the bathroom. Good. That meant both Ryou and Kek were preoccupied and I could have a moment alone with Bakura.

I shift to my other side then, so I could look at him. I feel him morning-hard against my crotch, but I only grinned and gave our cocks a teasing bump that made Bakura's breath hitch. My fingers go for his hair again. I love that fucking hair, and I combed it as I drew our mouths close for a quick kiss- unconcerned about morning breath. Our lips only just touched when the giggling rising above the shower noise became low moans. My cheeks heated up and my cock twitched in reflex at the noise.

"Ha, yeah, they're like that in the mornings," Bakura said, almost like an apology. Another moan echoed down the hall and I could feel Bakura heating up from his scalp to toes. "Um, they're extra worked up this morning, I guess."

"Sounds like it," I muttered.

I held Bakura in a moment of awkward silence, but only silent in our end. The sounds from the bathroom only grew louder. I realized they weren't going to stop, and I suppose the polite thing to do would be to get up and turn on the tv to drown out the noise while waiting for a more opportune time to be alone with Bakura, but I had already made my plans, and I never liked having to change my plans.

I flipped so that Bakura lay on his back and I was straddled on top of him. Bakura stared at me with wide eyes. He was too dark for a blush to show, but I was sure that he was blushing. His lips were dark and swollen, and his chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. I could tell the the entirety of the moment had him aroused. Me on top staring down at him. The other two moaning as they fooled around in the shower. And perhaps I shouldn't encourage that, letting him get turned on by all of us at once like that, but the look in his eyes… I liked that look, and I liked the expression on his face, and I liked that his heart pounded so hard that I could feel it.

So it didn't bother me, knowing that he was thinking about all of us when I kissed him. It didn't bother me when he accidentally moaned in time with Ryou. Actually, something about that was thrilling. It was like controlling the Rod in a way, taking more than one should have. I deepened our kiss, using my tongue. Again, morning breath be damned, I flew from Accra to Domino for this, and I wasn't about go slow.

Bakura arched up, setting my lower half on fire. Before I knew what I was doing I had a decent pace going, grinding down on him as I sucked on his bottom lip. And Bakura was so _receptive_ to it all. He arched, and moaned, and tugged at my shirt, and I couldn't get enough of the way he forfeited his body to my every touch.

Then he started moaning, painfully close to coming. Bakura tried to cover his mouth, but I pinned his wrists over his head and worked my hips faster in order to make him moan more loudly. Kek wasn't the only one that could make a Bakura moan, and they're the ones that started making noise first. I wasn't about to be quiet for them.

Bakura bucked beneath me, singing out in ecstasy. It'd been so long, it'd been _so long_ since I last came that just watching him come was enough to push me over the edge. I dropped back down beside him, wrapping us both up in the blanket and holding him as tightly as my tired arms could manage. My back felt great at that moment, or at least I felt so great that I didn't notice my back, and I dozed in Bakura's arms again. I didn't even notice when the other two turned off the shower, or when they left for work that day.


	34. Ryou 10

"I know we started it, but how dare he."

I held Kek's hand as we walked to work together. The sunlight had everything bright and beautiful. I wished it were raining. Isn't it suppose to rain in the romance movies during the melancholy scenes? We hadn't _meant_ to be loud in the shower, but it was like we'd been trying to heal some of the heartbreak by clinging harder to each other than usual. It wasn't until I heard Bakura's voice echo from the living room, that I even realized we were being loud, and by then it was too late to tone it down because we were already in the middle of a contest of who could be louder.

"If it makes you feel better, we could turn our little noise match into a wild battle, and I'm sure we'd end up winning." Kek grinned, all teeth and sneaky intentions, and it made me want to kiss him but we were on the street.

"It would be much more fun if we just tied Bakura to the bed and all had a turn at seeing who could make _him_ moan loudest." I was blushing, but I said it anyway.

Why not? I meant it. It'd be incredibly fun to both have my turn, and watch the others take theirs- not to mention watching Bakura's reactions to it all. I bet we could get him to blush straight through his dark complexion. Dammit, this was as bad as that morning I saw Bakura and Kek on the floor together. I wanted to be in the middle of it all, but I didn't know how to ask for what I wanted.

"Well." Kek snickered. "We could dare Marik to try it. Maybe his competitive duelist spirit will win out and he'll agree."

"Those tactics would work against someone like Kaiba, but Marik's not one to nibble at bait unless he has his own agenda behind doing so."

"Well, let's give him reason. Let's seduce him."

"What?" I laughed, like Kek's suggestion was incredulous, but honestly, it felt like Kek had just used the Rod to read my mind. "You're joking, right? I was led to believe that you and Marik hated each other."

"Technically Marik hated himself because I was him- back then- but now…" Kek stopped and raked his fingers through golden spikes of hair that looked like cartoon sunrays. "Look, I can't think of another way to fix this, and I'd rather add Marik than lose Bakura."

"Yeah." I sighed. "I know exactly how you feel."

"So?" He chuckled, but it was a nervous sound and not his usual _kekeke_. "Wanna try? I mean, we're already getting our hearts broken, so the worst that's going to happen is Marik rejects us and they get a little more broken, but if we pull this off, not only do we keep Bakura, but we have an extra player for Monster World."

"Shhh." I teasingly place a finger against Kek's lips. "You had me at 'extra player for Monster World.' Of course I'm in."

Kek snapped at my finger with his teeth, but I pulled away and grinned at him.

"His favorite food is kushari," Kek said. "We can pick up the ingredients on the way home."

"Sounds good." I held my stomach. "Ugh, I'm nervous now. Kinda excited though."

"Don't worry." Kek squeezed my hand. "Who can resist you? You're gorgeous, and sweet, and the best at cuddling while talking about games even when it's three in the morning."

"Oh stop." I giggled. "I'm going to be blushing for the rest of the day now."

"It's all true, though." Kek gave my hand a final squeeze. "I'll see you after work."

I waved goodbye and continued to work. I spent most my work day biting my bottom lip and trying to think of ways to seduce a former crime ring lord turned humanitarian crusader.

But who was I kidding? I was the ultimate, graceless nerd when it came to flirting. I didn't know how to seduce people. Yugi was the one that asked me out first, and Bakura drafted me into our current triad. Maybe Bakura will see what we're doing and tie up all the loose ends for us. Gods I hoped so, because otherwise this was going to be a long, awkward struggle.


	35. Marik 6

I stepped out of the bathroom, combing my blow-dried hair with my fingers. I can't help but hold my breath through the claustrophobic, dimly-lit hallway and hurry into the living room where Bakura sat on the floor with his laptop. I exhaled and then inhaled as slowly as I could, not wanting Bakura to notice something off with my breathing.

"You're not writing me anymore love letters, are you?" I winked. "Rishid might have a heart attack if the last one costs as much as the first."

"I already transferred all your money back into their original accounts," Bakura said more focused on typing than Marik.

"You… did?" I stared at him. It can't be that simple. Not with Bakura. "What's the catch?"

"No catch."

"Bullshit. Like I'm going to believe you donated the money you stole back to me _just because._ "

"I already got what I wanted." Bakura snorted. "And it's not like I don't have my own money."

"Who'd you steal _that_ from?" I laughed, sitting down across from him.

"I have a job, asshole. In fact, I'm trying to do it now. If you don't mind?"

"You have a job." I laughed harder. "Does it have anything to do with cybersex?"

"Yes." Bakura smirked. "I like to dress up in lacy teddies and heals and jerk off for old rich men on the internet."

Okay, smartass. Well, if he wants to be sarcastic, I'm game. I pull out my wallet, slip a credit card out, and tuck it into his waistband.

"Marik, what the fuck." Bakura snatched the card and looked at it before looking at me and raising an eyebrow.

I lay on the carpet, resting my chin in my hands and grinning. "Well? Let me see the outfit."

"Sorry. It's at the dry cleaners." He tossed the credit card back at me. It fluttered to the carpet, but I ignored it for the time being.

"Then what are you actually doing?"

"Three new hires need to be put into the system. Plus someone has been testing our firewalls, so I'm setting up a little trap for them."

"Bakura-" I grinned.

"Yeah?"

"You have a _real job_."

"Your powers of observation are mind-boggling, Marik."

"You're like an actual, functional member of society now. I'm impressed."

"Don't rub it in. I didn't tease you about reforming."

"It's interesting to see this side of you. That's all. So? You're doing security?"

"Yup. For Kaiba Corp."

"How much is Kaiba paying you?"

"Enough."

"I'll double it," I said.

"If this involves me in lace and high heels, just say it's your kink. You don't have to pay me." Bakura glanced at me with a smile to show he was teasing. "I'll try anything once."

"If you're good enough to get hired by Kaiba Corp, and you're good enough to steal from me, then I want you to work for me." I licked my lips to sweeten the deal. "I promise, I have better benefits."

"I'd love to check out your benefits package." Bakura shot me with his finger. "But I need to finish this real quick. I'll look at your system this afternoon."

"Fine." I sighed and grabbed my phone to occupy myself.

I sent Rishid a few texts, and then decided to call my sister. It was over an hour later that I escaped from her, and by then Bakura was already in the kitchen making lunch.

"Your sister should be a swimmer." Bakura tasted the broth from his pot and nodded his head.

"A swimmer?" I asked.

"Yeah, anyone with lung capacity like that should try out for a triathlon."

"Shut-up," I said, but I'm laughing. "Smells good."

"It's just ramen. I don't really know what you eat, so I figured something basic." Bakura frowned. "Marik, I don't even know what your favorite food is. Or song? Or… anything." He sighed. "Your favorite color is gold. I know that."

His words hurt because he's right. We're so naive. Why did we think we were ever in love? It was more like we loved hating together. Hating the Pharaoh, and hating weakness, and hating everyone and everything, but I didn't even know Bakura had a job, let alone his favorite color…

Couldn't help but smile though. "How'd you know? That gold was my favorite?" I asked. "Everyone else thinks it's purple."

"It's on everything you own." Bakura chuckled. "My favorite color is-"

"Don't tell me." I walked up to him, taking both his hands. He looks up so our gazes catch. "Let's play a game."

"What are the rules?"

"No rules. We spend the rest of the week trying to find out everything about each other."

"That's easy, just ask."

"No direct questions. It has to be through conversation or observation."

"Does conversation include Ryou and Kek?" Bakura pursued his lips.

"Hey-" I grinned. "Feel free to call Ishizu and talk to her if you want."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that." He snorted and turned the heat off of the stove. We sat down at the table to eat. While the broth cooled, I flipped through my phone and bring up my current playlist. Im3allem plays and I give Bakura a lidded stare.

"Cheating already?" He asked while returning my sleepy look.

"Figured you earned one freebie for guessing my favorite color correctly."

Bakura grinned so broadly that he broke eye contact and stared at his ramen. "I like it."

We listen to the rest of the playlist while we eat and clean the kitchen. Although there's background music, that doesn't stop us from talking. I tell him about different countries I've been too, sticking mostly to the ones surrounding the Nile so he can have some sense of what's what from the last time he was alive. He talks about work, and Kek's boxing buddies that he gets along with, but mostly he kept rambling about an RPG called Monster World.

"You should teach me how to play."

"You really want to?" Bakura scratched through his shaggy, silvery-white hair. "We get by with three, but a fourth player would really help our campaign."

"It sounds like fun." And it actually did. Some of the stories Bakura told about narrow escapes from monsters because of a clever idea or a lucky dice roll made it sound like my kind of game.

"Okay, let's get you a character started."

I grab my phone and take the music into the living room. Bakura hands me a player's handbook.

"Choose your job class."

I scanned through the different options. My cheeks heated up. The one I like was the most ridiculous one on the list, and it was probably Ryou's job class already.

"You know." Bakura leaned closer, and I noticed that his hair smelled like apples. I had laughed when I saw the cheap bottle of shampoo in the bathroom, but damn… Bakura had a way of making discount seem god-ordained. "If you're having trouble deciding, we could really use a healer. It's usually Ryou's job, but he got a wild hair up his ass and decided to be a diabolist."

"I guess I could. I don't really have a preference." I shrugged as if a white wizard wasn't exactly the character I had wanted to choose, but felt stupid for doing so. I'd say Bakura was psychic, but I know it's really more like hypervigilant.

"I'll make you a figurine."

I rested my head on Bakura's shoulder, watching him detail a little wizard with copper skin, gold hair and accents, and even little purple lotuses near the base of the robe that matched the color of the little wizard's eyes. I smiled the entire time I watched. He was amazing with the detail brush, dexterous and meticulous. Battle City may have not been the best time or place to meet. We may have not been our best selves back then, but I was excited that now we had the chance to meet all over again.

"There." He set the mage next to a thief in a red robe.

I stared at the two figures. The thief's robe reminded me of Bakura's hoodie. Then I remembered that his chopsticks had also been red at lunch, and his shampoo was country apples- not sour apple.

"Hey Bakura," I whispered in his ear.

"Hmmm?" He asked with a hum, distracted by the way I was brushing my lips along the shell of his ear.

"Your favorite color is red."


	36. Kek 9

"How much do you want to bet they're fighting when we get home?" Ryou laughed.

"Not taking that bet." I grinned; my hands full of bags.

We bought everything we needed for dinner, plus of few steaks for Bakura and I. Not to mention two bottles of wine to go with the meal. We wanted everything to be really nice. My stomach was in knots. I sighed and held it with my free hand.

"Nervous?"

"Yeah," I confessed.

"Me too. It's okay."

"He never liked me," I blew out a tense breath.

"He'll like you now." Ryou squeezed my arm. "You're amazing. And didn't you two get along in the kitchen last night?"

"Yeah, that's the problem…" I stared at the sidewalk, stared at the cracks, tried to put deep, unformed thoughts into words. "It… was fun, and when we were talking…" I blew out another breath. "I was really happy. It hurt so bad, when he didn't show up that first day. I felt bad for Bakura, but for me too, and now he's here. I-" I frowned, but pushed through my thoughts. "I'd like it if we were close, somehow. Even if it wasn't romantically, but…" I flushed. "Romantically sounds fun if I'm honest about it."

"Yes. I understand." Ryou nodded. "It was like that with Bakura. We didn't necessarily get along either, back then, but I felt… kinda like what you said, and then when you two got together, and I already liked you, and I'm glad we all ended up together even if Bakura does leave." Ryou gave me a nervous giggle. "It's really nerve-wracking, isn't it?"

"What about Marik?" I asked. "Are you mad at him for controlling you during Battle City?"

Ryou blew out a stuttering breath. "He apologized, years ago, for that. When we were in Egypt for Yugi's Ceremonial Duel, and I forgave him. Besides, he didn't do half as much damage as Bakura did." Ryou scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. "Back then, when we had the Items, I would have never developed feelings this this for either of them, but it's different now."

"Because they were cruel?" I asked. Our apartment was only a block away, so I knew our conversation was almost over.

"No." Ryou gave a soft, affectionate chuckle. "Because I pitied them. That's why I could never be really angry at them- I felt too sorry for them."

"You would." I made the same soft laugh as Ryou. "You would."

He would. They cut him up like a fish and treated him like a doll, and the whole time Ryou felt like _they_ needed sympathy. Poor them. Poor violent sociopaths. During Battle City I just thought they were both exceptionally stupid, and weak. I wouldn't have known how to feel pity had someone handed me a handbook. There wasn't enough of me back then to do it even had I wanted to, and I _hadn't_ wanted to, at all.

"But I respect Marik now," Ryou continued. "He looks like he finally knows where he is, you know? He always looked like a lost child before."

"Yeah." I nodded. That part was true. A lost child. I remember thinking the same thing back then.

We entered the apartment, expecting to hear arguing, but we heard laughter instead. Marik and Bakura were curled up together on an oversized beanbag chair near the game area. Bakura was showing Marik how to throw the dice.

"Bakura, don't teach him how to cheat before he even knows how to play," Ryou scolded.

"We've been playing all day," Bakura said, stroking Marik's wrist, then correcting the angle before Marik tried to throw. "Time for the advanced lesson."

"Keep in mind that I'll always know when you cheat," Ryou said. "So be reasonable about it."

"Or what?" Marik laughed. "You'll give me a penalty game?"

"I'll start controlling my dice rolls." Ryou continued to the kitchen without further explanation.

On my way to join him, I leaned close. "Trust me, don't do it unless you're in the mood to roll a new character, because he _will_ make sure the one you cheat with explodes."

Marik snorted, but Bakura made a noise in the back of his throat.

"Literally," Bakura said, getting fired up at the memory. "Explode. He does it on purpose so magic can't revive the character. I was almost into epic levels, too, such bullshit- I was hardly cheating!"

"You rolled a supercritical to try and steal from a god after Ryou _specifically_ told you that the god could sense deceit- which you know means _don't cheat this roll because it will fuck up the campaign and piss off the DM_ ," I argued.

"I thought I could get away with it." Bakura grinned.

"That never exactly worked for you in real life." Marik raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you think it'd work in the game?"

"The game is a fantasy."

"I'm going to go help Ryou make dinner. We're making kushari." I flashed a smile at Marik, hoping it came off as charming and not, like psychotic or something.

"Hmmm, kushari?" Bakura asked with a suspicious purr. "That wouldn't happen to be Marik's favorite food, would it?"

"Yeah." I blinked, not understanding why Bakura seemed so sleek about the statement. "We thought we should nice and make something Marik likes."

"Another point for me." Bakura whispered into Marik's hair.

"Dammit, you shouldn't have _told him_ ," Marik complained, and I was even more confused. "Now it's only fair if you tell me what Bakura's favorite food is."

"Don't be bitter that I'm ahead." Bakura snickered.

"Uh, steak?" I shrugged, not really understanding what they were talking about. It was obviously some sort of guessing game, but I didn't understand.

"Ha! Wrong!" Bakura cheered. "Don't get me wrong, it's in my top three, but not number one."

"Dammit," Marik swore under his breath.

"Well, you're getting steak." I snorted and went to the kitchen.

Ryou stood in the kitchen with his hair swept up into a bun. He was already busy cooking the rice, pasta, and lentils while chopping onions and garlic.

"It smells good already." I smiled when I saw him- a bad habit I'd never even try to break.

I snuck behind him and kissed the nape of Ryou's neck. He giggled and shooed me away with his shoulder as he continued chopping with his knife. The way Ryou handled a knife always excited me, and I stole another kiss to his neck before allowing myself to be shooed away again. I got both steaks in the broiler and was setting the table when Marik and Bakura burst into the kitchen. Bakura walked behind Marik, both hands wrapped around Marik's mouth.

"Don't tell him, _anything_! He's supposed to figure it out on his own- ew!" Bakura jerked back and wiped his hands on Marik's shirt. "Licking? Really? That's so mature, Marik!"

"It worked, didn't it?" Marik smirked, and then spun on us. "So, what's Bakura's favorite way to travel? Obviously mine was motorcycle, so I think it's only fair that I find out his."

"Why don't you take him out on a freaking date?" I rolled my eyes. "Try different things and look at his reaction."

"See!" Bakura gestured to me. "He knows how to play the game! And we've never even played this game!"

"That would take too long." Marik huffed. "I just want to know _. Then_ I don't have to waste time and if I decide to take you somewhere, I can _plan_ properly."

"Bakura's right. You're cheating," Ryou said.

"Ugh, you two are _useless_." Marik stormed out of the kitchen.

It pissed me off, so I marched to the door and shouted into the livingroom. "We're making you dinner! You're fucking useless!"

I slammed the door shut and went back to the dishes on the table. Ryou sighed, and I knew what it meant- _way to be seductive, Kek_. Well… fuck it. Marik's a brat. An attractive brat, and less of a brat from when we shared a body, and a brat that I actually admire because of how much he's changed since then- but still a brat!

"It smells good." Bakura leaned over to kiss Ryou's exposed neck like I had, but he stopped, looking confused, like he wasn't sure if he should or not.

The three of us exchanged a look, and that was the problem. None of us really knew, but guessed the answer was probably not. The moment he started kissing Marik, we technically lost him. None of us really knew how Marik would feel, so Bakura sighed and wrapped his arms around Ryou instead, resting his forehead on the nape of Ryou's neck instead of kissing it.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Why?" Ryou asked as if he didn't notice what was wrong, although his tone gave him away.

"We're going to play Monster World after dinner, okay?"

"That sounds great." Ryou smiled, sincere if tentative.

"I'm sorry." Bakura stumbled out of the kitchen.

"It's okay-" Ryou called out after him, but his voice was soft and I wasn't sure if Bakura had heard the words or not. Ryou sighed.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"Not you, too."

"Maybe I shouldn't have yelled at Marik about dinner."

"No, he needed to hear that. He was being rude, and this scheme of ours won't work if we're not honest," Ryou said. "I learned that the hard way when I dated Yugi. I always smiled and never tried to bother him when something bothered _me_ , and look where that ended?"

"With you in my arms instead." I grabbed Ryou from behind and nuzzled his shoulders. "Seems like I won."

Ryou laughed, and it was good to hear.


	37. Ryou 11

At the last minute I baked cookies. I figured we could eat them while we played Monster World. When they were cooling on a rack, Kek called Marik and Bakura into the kitchen to eat.

"Would you like some wine?" I offered Marik, filling glasses for the rest of us.

"No thank you." Marik looked bashful as he said it. "I've, uh, blacked out enough enough in my life already, so I don't drink a lot."

"Oh," I said, a regular orator. "I'm sorry. Of course. I can dump these down the sink-"

"No, don't." Marik touched my wrist to keep my from going to the sink, and I have to confess that my cheeks grew hot at the little touch. "You're fine. It's just that I had some drinks a few nights ago, so I'd rather not tonight."

"How about tea?"

"That would be nice." Marik smiled.

And I flushed a little more. Bakura and Kek were handsome, gorgeous, really, and so am I, so I usually don't melt at a pretty face, but Marik was a little _too pretty_ to resist. I can see how easy it would have been for him- even without the Rod- to manipulate and control people. He had thick lashes that would make you want to do anything if he fluttered them and asked sweetly. Fortunately he wasn't asking for anything, just looking a little abashed as he rubbed his own shoulder.

"Sorry about earlier. I wasn't trying to sound ungrateful about dinner. I got carried away with the game we're playing."

"It's okay." I smiled as I passed out the wine and set the kettle on the stove. I was happy that he apologized. That's not something Battle City Marik would have done, and I guess it wouldn't hurt to help him out a little if he was going to start acting polite. "It's flying, by the way. Bakura loves airplanes."

"Dammit, Ryou." Bakura rolled his eyes and took a gulp of wine. "Don't tell him everything about me, okay?"

"I didn't even know that one," Kek said. "What's his favorite food? I guessed wrong."

"Same as yours, silly, pork." I measured out the tea in a single cup strainer and poured the hot water over it, setting the cup in front of Marik and sitting down so we could eat.

"Fuck you guys. Marik's supposed to guess, not get all the answers from Ryou."

"Your favorite food is easy." Kek grinned. "Cream puffs."

"Guilty." I smiled. "I only eat dinner so I can hurry up and get to dessert."

"What's his favorite color?" Marik asked Kek.

"Gold," Kek said without having to think about it.

"Really?" Marik blinked. "Mine, too."

"Yugi's too," I said. "Maybe it's a Millennium Item thing."

"But Bakura likes red." Marik removed the strainer from his tea and took a sip. "This is good."

"Thank you." I nodded at the tea. "Bakura was an awful Millennium Item holder."

"Fuck you, Ryou."

"It's true." I sang, teasing him. "I was much better with it than you were."

"My asshole you were."

"So what's Kek's favorite color?" Marik asked.

"Violet," all three of us said in union.

"Hmmm." Marik stared at his bowl. "You guys got to know each other pretty well in the last few months, haven't you?"

"Of course. We love- I mean whatever." Kek forced a grunt out of his mouth. "We've been putting up with his stupid ass all this time while he was waiting on you."

"It's okay." Marik distracted himself with his food. "This is really good, Ryou."

"Kek gave me the recipe."

"Was it your idea?" Marik asked.

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"It's no big deal." He picked at his steak, but didn't eat much. "We just wanted dinner to be nice for you."

"I still appreciate it." Marik winked. "Much better than being attacked by a god."

"Ha! Yeah, well, you know the gods really aren't that impressive in person."

"You've seen them?"

"Sure. When Bakura and Atem got weighed. Pretty sure I could take Anubis in a fight. I would have found out if the Pharaoh hadn't acted up and got us all sent back."

"Barbeque…" I whispered, remembering back to our first conversation.

Kek and I both laughed, but Marik and Bakura only gave us a quizzical look. We shook our heads. It was one of those jokes that isn't funny unless you were there, and explaining it would be awkward. Kek seemed to agree, changing the topic and asking Marik what character he'd build for tonight's game. I had to admit, I was discouraged while we were making dinner, and that moment with Bakura was painful and awkward, but once we all sat down and started eating, the conversation settled into a natural flow and it was comforting to be able to relax, and talk, and eat, and not worry about who was technically dating who for an hour.

Marik tactfully dodged out when it was time to do the dishes, however. Bakura stayed, and Kek tried to as well, but I gestured for him to go and keep Marik company. Not because of what I was starting to think of as "the plan," but because it'd probably be good for them to talk to each other a bit more. He took the hint and I was left alone with Bakura. It was so hard not to kiss him. Habit's a bitch.

"I have the next campaign. Marik came in at a good time. We won't have to work his character in."

"What's he going to play as?" I handed Bakura a plate to rinse.

"White wizard."

"Oh good. We can play mean now that we have a healer."

"Right? That's exactly what I was thinking."

"You know…" I grinned. "You could wash the last of the dishes tomorrow while I'm at work, right?"

"Psh, can't wait to get your hands on my dice, can you?"

"You know I love rolling your dice around in my hands." I bumped him with my hip.

"Why Ryou." Bakura gasped as he dried his hands on a towel. "I'm getting suspicious that you're not talking about Monster World at all."

"You're always misreading my pure and wholesome intentions." I mussed up his already messy hair. Normally I'd lick his earlobe after a statement like that for juxtaposition, but this was the best I could think to do under our new circumstances.

"Yeah…" Bakura tried to push his hair back into place, but there was no order to it to begin with, so he simply shifted the mess instead of fixing it. "Look, if this is too much, then we can-"

"I really want to play Monster World," I cut Bakura off before he could even _say_ leave. Then I walked over to the kitchen door and cracked it open so we could see Kek and Marik in the living room. "Besides… look at them. Kek really does want to reconcile things _in some way_ with Marik."

I was purposefully vague on what way _some way_ meant. I wasn't sure why. I should have recruited Bakura into "the plan," but I was afraid to get his hopes up. If we failed, or if things didn't work out, or if Marik simply wasn't interested, it would crush us, and I didn't want Bakura to be part of that extra heartache.

But seeing Kek and Marik sitting close and leaning towards each other while Kek picked up different figurines to show Marik… my heart was jittery. I did love gold, and they were covered in it, and their hair was gold, and it was beautiful to look at. _More importantly,_ they both had huge grins on their faces as they talked and pointed to different game pieces. I would fight an army to protect those smiles. I forgot we were standing in the kitchen until Bakura nudged me with his elbow.

"Hey, Mr. Voyeur, are we going to actually play Monster World, or are we just going to stand here and watch them all night long?"

"Oh." I blushed, busted, but with Bakura mentioning voyeurism, I got a great idea. I grabbed my trusty phone camera and started filming them. "Let's just watch them… at least for a few minutes."


	38. Bakura 9

*****"Fortune Cookie" as a nickname that Kamy sometimes uses in her comics (follow them on Tumblr, their ygo comics are the best!)*****

* * *

Marik needed to go shopping, and I stayed home, feigning a nap. The moment he was gone, I was on my laptop and signing online. If Marik was going to milk Ryou and Kek for information for our game, well then two could play that game.

And as luck would have it. Ishizu was online.

" _What's up, Fortune Cookie? Have you figured out that I'm back yet?"_

" _Why did you steal from Marik?"_

Well, she got to the chase, didn't she?

" _To get his attention."_

" _You're a cockroach."_

Damn.

" _Calm your-"_

I deleted the first two words. On second thought, I didn't really want to tell Marik's sister to calm her tits.

" _Calm down. I gave the money back already."_

" _Why would you give it back? What are you scheming now?"_

Oooooooooh Myyyyyyyy Godcaaaaaards! Why was this woman so insufferable? Here I was, trying to get to know Marik a little instead of just running off and becoming the Ultimate Fuck Buds™ and Ishizu wouldn't let me get a single question in without an insult or accusation. I mean… not that I fully _blamed_ her. I kinda was a thieving cockroach that was always scheming something, but at least let me get a word in edgewise.

" _You're overthinking this. I wanted to get Marik's attention, so once I did, I didn't need his money anymore."_

" _Yes, well, I suppose you do have it now. Rishid told me he's in Domino."_

" _Yes. He's at the store, currently. That's why I was trying to message you."_

" _I can't see what we could possibly need to talk about."_

" _We don't *need* to talk… I just-"_

" _I mean-"_

" _Look, I thought it'd be nice if I could learn a little more about Marik?"_

I was not doing a good job of whatever the hell I was trying to do. Part of me wanted to be blunt and flat out say that I fell in love with her brother's hatred for the Pharaoh years ago, and now I'm back, and human, and SOL when it comes to vengeance, and I'm just trying to reconcile the _memories_ and the _feelings_ of then and now because they weren't going away and I was stuck, so if she could just tell me what sort of games Marik liked as a kid so I could surprise him when he got home, then that'd be great, thanks.

" _If you have questions, then ask him. I'm not going to help you case my little brother for whatever self-motivated reasons you have."_

" _I have been asking him, but we're playing a game and asking you is part of it."_

" _I don't believe you."_

" _WHY WOULD I LIE ABOUT SOMETHING SO STUPID?"_

" _Why indeed?"_

" _Omg, I don't want his credit card information. I was just curious if he had a favorite bedtime story, or game, or pet from childhood or something. Were you guys even allowed to have pets when you were kids? A cat?"_

" _I have nothing to say to you. Good day."_

" _Psh, yeah. Thanks for nothing. Lovely talking to you again."_

I knew I shouldn't close out the conversation like that, but I was pissed off and bitter. Another box flashed at the bottom of my screen. I clicked on it, and realized it was Baldy.

" _What would you do? If Marik did like cats?"_

" _Get him a kitten."_

I typed without thinking, but I realized as soon as it was on the screen that it was true. Sure, it was a point in the game, if I could tell him another fact that I shouldn't know, but really it was more than that. It was about making Marik happy.

" _Really?"_ Rishid asked, but unlike with Ishizu, I had a feeling that the single worded question was actual curiosity instead of an implied accusation.

" _We're playing a get-to-know-each-other game."_

" _I think a game like that will be good for both of you. There were cats, to eat the rats and snakes, but we weren't allowed to pet them because they were sacred. I used to have to chase Marik- he was about three- and carry him out of the pantry while he screamed and reached out for them. We played Duel Monsters, mostly, as children, but sometimes sennett. You should have already guessed that he liked stories about ghouls as a child. Is that enough?"_

" _Yeah. Damn, thanks, Baldy."_

" _It's Rishid."_

" _Sure."_ I had no intention of ever calling him anything other than Baldy. Ever. But I did appreciate the offer of the name.

" _Good luck, Bakura."_

I closed out the chat boxes and brought up Google to see if I could find any good stories to whisper to Marik on the couch that night before we tried to go to sleep.


	39. Marik 7

I got a little carried away shopping. I'd only meant to buy a few extra toiletries and outfits, but it's been so long since I've been in Japan that I guess the spirit of tourism got to my head. By the time I reached Ryou's apartment I had so many bags that I couldn't even knock on the door, so I kicked it and shouted for Bakura to let me in, but Kek was the one who appeared in the doorway.

"Hey sexy." He winked at me.

"Quit goofing around and let me inside." I shoved past him with my shopping bags, intentionally avoiding his eyes so I didn't blush at what had to be a facetious greeting.

"Oh good, you guys are back home. I'm about to start dinner." Ryou was on the floor, gathering up Duel Monster cards. "You should play another game with Kek while I get things ready."

"I don't mind." I shrugged. "But it's just me. Bakura stayed home, so if he's not here, I'm not sure where he is.."

"Oh." Ryou frowned. "I wonder where he ran off to. He usually leaves a note."

I set my bags next to the couch. "Well, this should be the perfect time for me to grill you two for questions."

"Sorry, Marik. I have to cook dinner." Ryou flashed a coy smile before vanishing into the kitchen.

"I'll only answer if you beat me in Duel Monsters." Kek grinned.

"You're on." I snorted. "I'm not afraid of you."

Kek laughed.

"What's so funny?" I grabbed my cards and sat down in Ryou's spot.

"What's there to be afraid of? There's no Items, no Shadow Magic, we're playing on the carpet in our apartment, Marik."

I didn't reply. I supposed I overreacted out of default intuition. I know on the surface that Kek was no longer my specific darkness, but that didn't stop me from feeling a little guarded as a reflex. I won the coin toss and set two cards down. I was interested to see what sort of cards Kek would use on his own. He used… fairies. It really fucked with my head. Enough to wonder if he intentionally was fucking with me. Sanctuary in the Sky gave me some trouble, but after getting rid of it I pulled ahead and won, just barely.

"Well?" I raised an eyebrow.

Kek was growling at his cards. "Yeah, yeah, ask me something."

I hummed, thinking. I wanted it to be something good, but all I could think about were the kinds of silly questions one might ask during a sleepover. Finally, I gave into my own immaturity.

"Top or bottom?"

"How do you mean?" Kek grinned. He slipped behind me, wrapping his arms around my chest. "Do you mean when he spoons? Bakura's usually the little spoon."

"I figured that out on my own." I snorted, ignoring his mocking embrace. "You know damn well I mean in bed."

"You should really have to figure that one out on your own. It took us months."

"I won the game."

"Fine." Kek moved his hands to my shoulders, leaning his lips next to my ear and whispering, "Bottom."

I shivered. The way he whispered it, especially leaning up against me, sent my imagination into overdrive.

"What about position?"

"I told you- little spoon."

"That's not a position."

"Yes it is. Like this."

Kek switched from behind to in front of me and laid on his side, dragging me down behind him. He hooked his top leg over and behind my legs to open himself up to theoretical penetration, although we still had our clothes on. I bit the inside of my cheek as hard as I could to keep myself from moaning into his hair during the demonstration.

"Okay. Okay. You could have just said on his side with his leg up." My heart felt like it was going to break my ribcage and I wanted out of our pretzel before Kek realized that he was making me hard.

Had it been Bakura, I would have just made a Rod joke- one of the first things I learned about him was his unending greed for puns and wordplay- but I didn't want to tease Kek like that. I mean… right? It wasn't exactly the same, I think. Or- it was all too confusing and I needed to bail so I didn't have to think about it.

"Well, it's easier to show."

"Okay, but people usually don't just grab other people and get them into positions like that."

"I'm not stupid. Believe it or not, I actually _do_ function in society. I just thought… I mean, sorry. I guess I kinda forgot the whole separate body thing for a second there. I mean, not really, because it's obvious, but-"

"It's okay." I shook my head. Ugh, I was blushing and it bothered me, although I knew my complexion would hide it. "I mean, yeah, I get it. It was just, um-"

"He also likes to be the middle of a sandwich, if that helps." Kek winced. "I… guess it wouldn't really help to know that."

"Could you imagine?" I asked, rhetorically for the sake of breaking the tension, but my stupid brain thought I wanted an answer, and yes. I _could_ imagine. Thanks brain. I'm never getting rid of this hard-on now.

"No. Couldn't possibly." Kek winked.

"Shut up." I smacked his shoulder and earned a grin for it.

"Then again." Kek leaned closer. "I am a visual learner. Another demonstration might be in order."

The door opened before I could retort, which was probably for the best because I had no idea how I was going to respond. In stepped a very sheepish Bakura holding several pet store bags in one hand while the other braced a box against his hip.

"Oi! Ryou! You better come in here too!" Bakura shouted as he kicked the door shut.

"Make it quick. Dinner's ready. What's in the box?" Ryou stopped walking across the living room the moment he saw how overburdened Bakura was. He dropped the bags and held the box with both of his hands.

"Look, I can explain. There were four of them- and there's four of us- and I couldn't decide which one to get Marik, so I figured he can have first dibs and we'd just pick one each afterward."

"One what?" Ryou asked.

"Uuuuh…" Bakura knelt and opened the box lid, pulling out a black and white ball of fluff.

"Oh my god, you bought kittens?" Ryou's face lit up and he crashed beside Bakura, reaching into the box to play with them.

"Better hurry up and pick one, Marik. I think Ryou's about to steal them all." He smiled, watching Ryou.

"If I've picked up any such uncouth habits, it's solely your fault." Ryou nudged Bakura with his elbow.

Kek and I exchanged a quick glance at each other. My heart was racing again, although in a completely different way. I couldn't help but think of all those times my fingers almost brushed against soft fur, only to be dragged away into the dark and denied something as simple as the affection of a pet. I couldn't help but wonder if Kek was having the same memories, and by his expression- I'd bet he was. Even at that moment, crawling towards the box, it felt forbidden. Like my father would show up at any second with a whip, or Rishid would appear like a phantom and pick me up and carry me away again. At that moment Bakura was a djinn granting some long-repressed wish that I'd forgotten about and it felt like I'd somehow be punished for it.

But when I peered into the box, I couldn't really worry about consequences. I just saw six green eyes staring at me, and heard the little cries. The kitten in Bakura's arms was black and white and already curled against his chest and sleeping. There was an orange one, a white and gray one that that looked like a softer version of the one Bakura held, and a brown tabby. I picked up the brown tabby. It's claws stabbed into my shirt as it clung to me, but as soon as I scratched the top of his head, the little thing stopped crying and started to purr.

I was falling in love all over again. With the kitten, of course, but also with Bakura. I thought love was getting your back in a Shadow Game and leaving love notes hidden in theft, but now I was sure true love was Bakura bringing me an entire box of kittens because he wanted me to be able to chose my favorite.

"How… did you know?" I asked, voice quiet as to not startled the tiny thing against my chest.

"Rishid told me."

"You actually talked to Rishid?" I glanced up at him.

"I tried talking to Ishizu, but she thought I was up to something. Fortunately Baldy is a little more reasonable."

"This… I... I really love him, Bakura."

I could have just said thank you, but that didn't seem good enough. I felt a bit like a snake, joking about sex while Bakura was trying to find out something that would actually make me happy. It's like my brain couldn't process that the Ring Spirit wasn't quite the same as the Thief King- but merciful gods was this better.

 _There's no Items, no Shadow Magic, we're playing on the carpet in our apartment._

That's what Kek had said. He understood it better than I did. Holy shit.

"That means these two are for us." Ryou slid the box over to Kek, who hadn't moved the entire time.

Kek looked precious as he picked up the orange kitten and allowed it to climb onto his shoulder. I hope I didn't look that adorable- cute wasn't a look I went for. Still, it was nice to look at. Him and Ryou laughing side by. Ryou leaned back over to Bakura, slinging a single arm around him in order to hug him without smushing either cat.

"Bakura! You finally had a plan that wasn't stupid!"

"Psh, thanks Ryou." Bakura laughed.

They pulled apart from the embrace. Time seemed to slow as they did it. For a second, I thought they were going to kiss. The thought made me tight with? What? Anticipation? Perhaps? I expected jealousy, but it wasn't that, it was more of a weird excitement. But regardless, it didn't happen. Ryou's face turned red, he turned away, and scooted closer to Kek to put distance between them.

Was I disappointed? That their lips didn't brush? I couldn't see why I'd feel that way. Shouldn't I feel… upset? or mad? or… something else? Maybe it had something to do with Bakura sharing Ryou's body in Battle City? I suppose there'd be some attraction there on my behalf, but that didn't see like it fully encompassed to scope of my feelings. Maybe I was just aroused from Kek's foolishness and in a good mood because of Bakura's sweet gesture.

"I bought food, and toys, and two litter boxes, but the cashier said there should be one per cat, so I guess we'll need more. I just couldn't carry it all."

"We'll go to the store tomorrow after work," Ryou said.

Yes, kittens. I shouldn't even be thinking about- whatever it was I was trying to sort out in my head. Who cared? Bakura tossed me a little fish pole toy and I could barely get it out of the package before my brown tabby was tearing into it.


	40. Kek 10

Marik and Bakura were training their kittens to be killing machines, dangling toys in front of them and watching the little furballs attack their prey. Ryou, on the other hand, sat on the floor against the sofa and I laid on my back with my head in his lap. He stroked my hair while I held both of our kittens on my belly. They slept in a little huddle and I couldn't stop feeling how soft they were with my fingers. The memories were hazy, a lot of Marik's memories before I existed were hazy for me, but I remember reaching out and trying to hold the cats that lived in the tombs, but he never let me.

Fucking Rishid. He didn't let me exist. He didn't let me hold the kittens. Fucking never let me do anything. I can see _why_ he didn't want Marik touching the cats. It wasn't allowed, and Rishid would have been the one getting the lash if Marik had disobeyed. But hey, maybe Rishid should have manned up and killed the old man back then. Would have saved me the trouble. I wouldn't have existed then, I realize that, but fuck it. Would've taken one for the team for the principle of it.

But oh well. He didn't. I did. Now I'm here with kittens napping on my belly. Dammit Bakura. Didn't need another reason to love you. I didn't need a reason to remember that Marik and I used to be one person- making me yearn to be closer to him. And we _had_ to stay together now, right? If we didn't, the kittens would get split up. We can't just wreck a family like that.

Family…

I sighed at the thought. Bakura, Ryou, and I had become a family, and the thought of Marik joining that made me jittery with excitement, but the thought of him and Bakura both leaving made the pain ache from my chest to my fingers.

"You okay?" Ryou asked; his fingers were gentle in my hair.

"Mmm-hmmm." I hummed. I couldn't talk about it out loud.

 _Hey Marik, don't break up the family, and by family I mean all four of us and the kittens. We should all be a giant litter together because apparently I'm affection starved and like the idea of full apartments and crowded beds._

Oh what bullshit. And it was selfish. Marik had a life. A good one. Why would he want to share that? He never did before… fuck.

"You want to watch a movie?" Ryou moved from my hair to my shoulders, rubbing little circles in my always-sore traps. He must have sensed that I was down, maybe he was even running a similar conversation in his own mind. I wouldn't have doubted it.

"Sounds good."

"What movie?"

"I don't know. A romance. One with a happy ending."

I very much needed a happy ending just then. My own story was too uncertain, so I wanted my escape, at least, to be pleasant and assured. I wished there was a movie where four people got together at the end- hint, hint, Marik- but I'd never seen a movie like that. All the movies showed male/female couples, and I suppose that was how all the guys at the gym dated as well. It added to my stress. What if Marik only wanted to date as half of a couple? That seemed to be the norm. You'd think I'd know the answer to that, but the only sense of attraction I ever picked up living inside Marik's mind was for Bakura. I almost chuckled, thinking that if Marik was both vain and Bakura-sexual then maybe Ryou and I had a shot afterall.

"If it's not horror movies, I'm not that good remembering the titles." He glanced to his side. "What's that one you like, Bakura? The one with the baby and the hobbit?"

"He's not a hobbit. Damn, Ryou, I'm taking away your nerd card." Bakura huffed. "Willow was a Nelwyn- and I don't feel like watching that movie."

"Since when?" Ryou scoffed.

"Since, whenever. I just saw it not long ago. I want to watch something else." Bakura furrowed his eyebrows. "How about Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust. That has some horror themes, but the romance is good-"

" _Happy ending, Bakura_." I grit my teeth.

"That has a happy ending," Bakura argued.

"You don't _know_ that."

"Yes I do. Why else would they show the spaceship during the opening credits? It shows that it gets to space. They'll be fine. I'm sure she'll just become-"

"Bakura. Spoilers." Ryou raised a finger to quit Bakura. "Don't ruin the movie for Marik."

But Marik was smirking and not paying attention. "So hobbits are fantasy, right? I remember that from one of my European Rare Hunter's minds. Does that mean your favorite genre is fantasy?"

"Hey look, you actually _earned_ an answer by paying attention." Bakura winked. "And how could I not like the Hobbit? The hero is a thief who steals a ring. That's my kind of story."

"Can we watch that one?" Marik asked.

"It's not a romance." Bakura scratched the back of his head.

"I'm okay with the Hobbit," I said.

"We can watch the only one," Marik offered. "The vampire one."

"Let's stay up late and watch both." Ryou smiled.

"Don't you have to work?" Marik asked.

"Sure, but tomorrow's Friday, so it won't hurt if we're tired one day before the weekend."

"Besides," I added. "Who wants to sleep when there are new kittens to play with. Grab the laptop, Bakura, and set up the first movie."


	41. Ryou 12

_Let's watch both movies_ , I said. _It'll be fun_ , I said. What was I thinking? I leaned my head against the couch and closed my eyes. Kek was asleep in my laps and all four kittens were off stalking in my bedroom. Which is where I was thinking about crawling myself.

"Are you okay?" Bakura asked.

"I guess I'm more tired than I thought." I'd forgotten that being in a constant state of romantic suspense is exhausting. "Maybe Kek and I should turn in."

"No, I wanna stay here." Kek turned on his side and nuzzled against my legs.

A sad smile tugged at my mouth as I combed through the myriad spikes that made up his hair. I couldn't help but remember the day Bakura sat and braided Kek's hair for his bout. Gods, I was happy that day. I needed to look up that video and re-watch it. I leaned forwards and kissed Kek's forehead. I knew Kek only wanted to stay because he wanted to be close to Marik and Bakura.

"Okay, few more minutes then," I said. Exhausted or not, how could I deny him?

"Mind if I sit on the couch?" Marik asked with the slightest wince on his face. "My back-"

"We'll move." I sat up.

"Stay there. I'm just going to take the other side." Marik sat in the far corner.

Too far. He was trying to be polite. Well, it had only been a few days, so of course he was still in guest mode, but I wish we could speed things along to informal even if nothing else. Bakura on the other hand never knew how to be a guest. His only setting was informal- invasive, really- and he dove onto the sofa and laid on his side with his head in Marik's lap. He poked the back of my head with his big toe and I smiled.

"Don't tease me too much, Bakura, or I might let it slip that you love lilac blossoms because they remind you of Marik's eyes."

"Fucking hell, Ryou." Bakura gave a playful kick to my shoulder, but I noticed the way Marik's face lit up at the statement.

"Is it true? Or is he teasing you?"

"Course it's true." Bakura growled.

"I honestly don't know what my favorite flower it. I've never thought about it." Marik shrugged.

"Hey Bakura, sounds like he's challenging you to figure it out." I elbowed Bakura's calf.

"Challenge accepted." Bakura grabbed his cell phone, presumably to look up flowers.

"Bakura stop. You just bought me a kitten." Marik's flushed.

"Hell no, I'm not stopping. This is actually fun. The rest of us should have thought up this game six months ago."

"What are your favorite flowers, Ryou?" Marik asked.

"Well, I never thought of it either, but I suppose I'd have to say white roses."

"I love you," Kek murmured against my thighs, still half asleep, but listening as well.

Now I was the one flushed. My fingers went back into the fluff of Kek's hair. That's where they seemed to belong.

"What about you, Kek?" Marik asked.

"White roses." Kek yawned and sat up. "Where did my kittens go?"

"Our kittens." I pinched the top of his rump. "They're exploring."

"Why white roses?" Marik asked.

"They remind me of Ryou," Kek answered.

"He gave me a bouquet the day he told me he loved me," I said afterward.

Marik smiled. "That's sweet. What did you give Bakura?"

"A six pack of beer," Kek said.

"What? Why didn't Bakura get flowers."

"We've explained that to you already." Kek pushed himself up and disappeared into the bedroom.

"Did I say something wrong?" Marik frowned.

"No." Sighing, I lifted up onto the sofa next to Bakura's legs. "The thing you should know about Kek is that if he's feeling something complex, more emotion than one at a time, he'll get flustered like that. He goes away so he can process things on his own without snapping at anyone."

"Should I go check on him?" Marik asked.

"Not this time." Without thinking, I reached behind me and patted Bakura's leg. There was no reason for it. It was simple what I'd do on any other night that Bakura was hogging the sofa, but the moment I did it I became aware of the action and somehow felt guilty for it. I pulled a deep breath into my lungs, trying to explain why Kek was upset. "You have to do certain things first, Marik."

"Who said I want flowers!" Bakura shouted as he sat up.

I stood up and started for the bedroom, turning around to shoot Bakura with my finger and wink in order to parody him. "Of course you do."


	42. Marik 8

I held my breath, my fists balled and my jaw tense. The spaceship's rockets sputtered, and I almost screamed, but I remembered Bakura telling Kek that the intro credits showed the vessel already in space. I had wondered what the big deal was, and now I knew. The spaceship, with both lovers inside, became a glimmer in the sky and I finally released my breath.

"I thought you said this had a happy ending?" I scowled at Bakura during the funeral scene.

"It does."

"Charlotte was dead."

"She'll become a vampire," Bakura said.

"How do you know?"

"I know."

"But _how_ do you know?"

"She _has to_." Now Bakura's jaw tightened. "That's how I know."

"Ha, you, an optimist." I grinned, relaxing against the sofa again. "But I suppose you always were."

"Pffft, whatever." Bakura crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're like D. You're not so bad- you just dress badly." I yawned, reaching my arms over my head.

"Suck my ass." Bakura flipped me off and I laughed.

I leaned over and kissed his nose. It scrunched up the moment my lips touched his skin, and I'd be lying if I'd said it wasn't endearing. So endearing, in fact, that I found myself reaching up and cupping his face so I could ease in and kiss him properly. Bakura melted against me the second I touched him. I suddenly had no breath. It was like I was freefalling with him, and it was more exhilarating than the fastest motorcycle. We pulled back, gasping for air. I blinked, my entire body burned inside and out, and I didn't want to stop at kissing.

"I'm going to get ready for bed." I gave him a coy smile and stood up to get one of the bags from my shopping trip as I went into the bathroom.

I changed into night clothes; I wanted to surprise Bakura. Perhaps I would have walked out naked, had we been alone, but I didn't want to chance an awkward moment if someone wandered to the kitchen in the middle of the night. Not that it really mattered, I could hear Ryou swearing from his bedroom despite the closed bathroom door.

I grabbed one of the condoms I'd bought and fussed with the wrapper, rolling it over my cock and then readjusting my loose sleeping pants. I will never not hate these things- the condoms, the pants were my favorite. I slipped a small bottle of lube into my pocket as well. Ready as I was going to get, I went back to the sofa where Bakura was already dozing. He opened his eyes the moment I drew near and smiled at me.

"You look cute in your pajamas."

"Shut up." My toes toyed with the carpet threads, just for an excuse not to look at Bakura.

"Guess I should use the bathroom, too," Bakura muttered.

I watched him go and then lay on my side on the sofa. Slipping my hand in my pants, I stroked myself to stay hard, but I didn't really need the help. I was extremely hard and extremely eager for what was going to happen next. My stomach twisted as I waited. I couldn't tell if he was taking a long time, or if I was being impatient. When the door opened and the bathroom light turned off I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming _finally you asshole!_ I licked my lips, more nervous than I'd ever admit.

A single lamp was the only light source in the room, enough to keep me from panicking. Bakura's hair looked especially ashen in the dim lighting and it was gorgeous. He only wore boxers and a tank top. Good. They weren't staying on for long, and I didn't want to fuss with zippers or buttons.

"Do you want to lay on the outside of the couch?" Bakura asked.

"I'm good." I patted the space in from of me. "Why don't you lie down?"

Bakura didn't argue- amazing, I know. I helped pull him down, making sure we were spooning with his back against my chest. I massaged his top shoulder, pressing small kisses into his hair. Bakura shifted a little, nudging backwards against my bulge and I gave a rough exhale at the sensation.

"I wanted to thank you for the kitten."

"I don't need flowers." Bakura snorted.

"But how will I figure out what type you like?" I snickered, my fingers gliding down to his ribs and teasing him. "If I don't…" I slipped my fingers under the band of his shorts. "... experiment."

Bakura breath hitched. He squirmed as I toyed with the sensitive skin below his waistline. I slowed my breathing, forcing myself not to rip his clothes off and shove him to the carpet below.

"This isn't as special as a kitten, but I did find out something interesting about you today and I thought I could incorporate that into my thank you."

"Ah, this is good." Bakura ground his ass against me again. "Don't stop. Please don't."

"I won't. I won't," I whispered against his ear, sucking on the lower lobe for a moment.

I couldn't take it anymore. I slid the tank top off of his chest first, and then pulled his boxers down. I tugged the blanket over us to give us some privacy in case we were interrupted, but I doubt we'd need it. My fingers flicked the buttons down my own top lightning fast and I yanked my pants down around my ankles, kicking them off. Undressing sideways on a couch wasn't ideal, but I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't care. I grabbed Bakura again, soaking in the warmth from his back. I traced the random scars that curved around his shoulder blades or down his lats. I felt tethered to Bakura at that moment, my fingers brushing old, countless wounds. So weird, how I always felt like our souls could brush against each other. My mouth was hot against his flesh, up his shoulder, up his neck. Bakura cooed like a love bird, and I lifted up his leg, ready to start.

"Fuck," I swore when I realized the lube was crumbled up with my pants at the other end of the couch.

"Pants pocket?" Bakura laughed with a mischievous leer in his voice.

"Are my schemes so easy to read these days?"

"No, but I'm used to working with you." Bakura sat up and fished out the little bottle, passing it over to me before getting back into position.

"Thanks." I grabbed the bottle and held it in my left hand as my right continued to explore Bakura's body.

I waited until he was squirming against me again before I poured some of the gel on my fingers. Bakura moaned at the sound of the cap popping. Good. He was as impatient as I was. I reached between his legs and prodded until I found his asshole. I pushed one finger in and eased it in and out at a moderate pace. The way Ryou and Kek yelled, I figured I didn't have to be too cautious with Bakura. However, I didn't want to be reckless either. I made sure he was clenching around my finger before adding a second.

I thought of flowers. Not that I wasn't absorbed in the moment. I was lost to the moment, and lost in the aura of warmth radiating from Bakura's skin, and the way he whimpered as I kissed his spine and buggered him with two fingers. Roses were too damn cliché, how fucking amateurish of Kek. Bakura should have something extraordinary. Irises? Orchids? Bird of Paradise? No, I think he needed something red. That was his favorite color.

Bakura reached back and grabbed at my hip. I could tell he was ready, so I let the moment sweep me away and poured the water-based lube onto the condom. I had to shift around to get into a position that would let me penetrate. The couch was a shit idea, but we didn't have a bed so I was going to make this work, dammit.

" _Fuck_." Bakura gasped when I slipped inside of him. " _Oh fuck_."

I wrapped my top arm around him and used my bottom forearm for leverage. It was a position that forced me to go slow, so I was out of my element, but Bakura threw his head back and moaned like he was in heaven and that made my chest swell.

"Bakura," I whispered into his hair again. "I love you."

A choking sound escaped Bakura. He clutched at the fabric of the sofa. I didn't want to let go, it felt too good to hold him, but I allowed my hand to slip down to his cock so I could stroke him.

"Marik!" Bakura shouted.

Hearing my name like that, it was like pouring gasoline over my head and striking a match. Fuck, it was hot, and I was burning because of it. It encouraged me to hike my hips a little faster. For a second, the memory of Kek behind me on the floor flashed back into my thoughts, and I gave a little grunt as my belly tightened again. Didn't help that Kek was screaming down the hall even as Bakura was screaming my name.

It would have been fun to try and outdo them again, but not tonight. Tonight I was focused on one thing- Bakura.

"I love you," I whispered again, winded as the pressure in my groin brought me to the brink. Fuck, I hope Bakura was close because I couldn't hold back anymore.

"Malik!" Bakura half-cried, half-gasped.

He reached down to the floor where a box of tissue sat near the couch and bunched several sheets in his hand. His moans rose into the air, and he came trembling against me and oh gods was it a good feeling. I let go of his cock after he was spent and clutched his hip so I could press a little deeper into his body.

"Bakura. Bakura. Bakura- o _hhh, oooohhh, ooooooooooh shit!_ " I called out as I came myself.

All the tension evaporated out of my body. My arms snaked around Bakura again as we both sighed in relief.

"I need to clean up," I muttered against his back.

"Ngh, me too," Bakura muttered.

I grinned as an idea came to me. "Want to take a shower with me?"

"Yeah." Bakura twisted around in my arms so he could steal a kiss.


	43. Bakura 10

*****Peret is the "growing season" that started in October.*****

* * *

Yes. Yes. Yes. Gods fucking yes! Every deliberate hitch of Marik's cock into my body was euphoric. I clutched onto the couch cushion and tried not to lose my shit, but it was so good that I was struggling not to. He muttered _I love yous_ into my hair and grabbed my cock and it wasn't long before I was calling out his name as I came. Even afterward, as Marik worked himself up to finishing, all I could do was groan and gasp, my thoughts lost.

"I need to clean up," Marik muttered behind me.

"Ngh, me too," I agreed.

"Want to take a shower with me?"

"Yeah." I flipped to face him so I could steal a kiss.

We snuck to the bathroom with our clothes in our arms. Kek and Ryou were still screaming just a little further down the hall.

"Do they ever stop?" Marik giggled as the screams reached their crescendo.

"They're at the grand finale now." I smirked, casting a quick glance at the bedroom door before turning and going into the bathroom.

I set my clothes on top of the hamper lid and turned on the water. Marik was busy removing his condom, wrinkling his face in disgust as he tossed it in the trash can.

"They smell bad," he responded to a question I didn't ask, washing his hands despite the fact that we were about to shower.

It was… a weird moment. Everything had happened so quickly with Kek and Ryou- too quickly, I was realizing- that we never _talked things through_. But with Marik there were _things_ that had to be discussed, and I was such shit at conversation.

"Um, I don't mind them." I fumbled with my words, trying to decide how to say what I wanted to say. "But, just so you know, it's just been the three of us."

"Oh, I wasn't sure how open you guys were. Guess I should have just asked."

"Yeah, you could always ask…" I paused, wanting to ask myself. "So… have you…"

"It's been over a year." Marik looked bashful. It was pretty cute.

"Then there really isn't any need if you don't like them- unless you just want to use them, or I could get tested if you wanted me to?"

Wasn't that a thing people did before they dated? I've never been to a doctor before in my life, but I guess I'd suck it up and make myself go if it meant Marik felt more comfortable. I had insurance, although I didn't really know how to use it. Fuck, this stuff never stopped blowing my mind. It didn't feel that long ago to me that Marik and I were facing each other at the pier discussing murdering Yugi and getting all the Items, and now we were in a bathroom having a really awkward conversation about condoms and STIs.

"Well, I can't imagine you caught anything in the afterlife." Marik chuckled, although it was a mix of nervous and embarrassed. "I'll probably just toss the condoms in the trash."

"You can stick them under the sink with the expired ones that Ryou had before Kek and I came back to life." I laughed in return, stepping into the shower for something else to distract us.

"What? Why don't you throw them out?" Marik tied his hair back into a bun and stepped into the shower with me.

"It's kinda funny to leave them there."

"Only _you_ would find old condoms funny."

"I really do."

I grabbed the soap and a washcloth. After soaping up the towel, I set down the bar and turned toward Marik, circling the towel across Marik's chest. Marik smiled when I started soaping up his body.

"This is nice."

I couldn't help but mirror his smile. It _was_ nice. Damn, guess I should have got my lazy ass up a few times when Ryou and Kek had invited me to take a shower with them, but in my defense- sleep.

"Get my back?" Marik asked.

"Turn."

Marik faced away from me, bracing his hands against the shower wall as I worked gentle circles along his back from top to bottom.

"Oh my gods," Marik arched against my hands.

I flushed at that. I wasn't expecting such a strong reaction. I continued to wash him, and by the time the towel reached between his legs he was hard as a brick, and I raised my eyebrows. Then again, he said it'd been a year. Seemed like Marik had some catching up to do. I dropped the washcloth and wrapped my hand around his shaft.

"Fuck," Marik gasped.

I stepped aside enough to allow some of the hot water to spray his back, just enough to rinse it off, and not enough for it to get uncomfortable against his scars. Once the suds were washed away, I pressed my chest against his back and kissed his shoulders and I continued to stroke his cock.

"Bakura," Marik moaned.

"I love you," I whispered back, echoing him from moments ago on the couch. I loved it when he said it to me, and by the way he pressed harder into my chest after I said it, I figured he enjoyed it as well.

"Oh Bakura!"

The water made his skin slick, so I glided my hand as quick as I could. Always kissing his back and shoulders. Always holding him around the waist with my left arm. Kissing the nape of his neck each time I muttered another _I love you_. He doubled over when he came, and I had to hold him up.

I washed myself up really quickly as he recovered, and then turned off the water. Wrapping a big towel around myself, I grabbed a fresh one and helped Marik dry off. He returned the favor, stealing the towel around my body so he could scrub it up and down my limbs. We laughed at each other, snatching quick kisses, or combing each other's bangs with our fingers as we took our time admiring each other's bodies and exploring them. His fingers caught my ribs and I flinched in reflex, pressing my lips together to prevent a giggle from escaping.

"You're ticklish." Marik beamed. "That's another point for me."

"You have a shower kink, so another point for me."

"I-I wouldn't call it a _kink_."

"You were definitely into that."

"I mean, a back rub would probably have the same effect."

"Oh? So that's your other kink? Noted." I winked.

"I'm still buying you flowers." Marik snorted. "Until I find the ones you like best."

I felt myself flush again. I wanted to come up with some sort of excuse for him not to bother, but Kek started screaming- not in a sexy way like earlier. He sounded pissed off. I opened the bathroom door to see what was up. Steam burst out into the hallway and the chill puckered my nipples. We peeked out just in time to see a dash of orange and a naked Kek racing after it with one of Ryou's house slippers raised up over his head.

"Get back here you little asshole I'm going to make neko sashimi!"

"Kek!" Marik shouted as Kek passed by.

Kek froze in place, looking sheepish as he covered his wang with the slipper.

"That just makes you look more ridiculous." I laughed.

He growled and threw the slipper back toward the bedroom, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall.

"I wasn't really going to _kill it_ , but it pounced on my foot and bit my toe as I was falling asleep so I just kinda… reacted."

"It's a kitten," Marik said.

"But he started it."

"It's a kitten!"

Kek pointed down the hall. "But I'm not allowed to bite people, so I don't see why he can't be chased a bit for doing it!"

"You bite people sometimes." I shot him with my finger. I really wasn't helping the situation whatsoever.

"It's different when it's consensual!" Kek snapped.

"Kek? Come back to bed." Ryou appeared in his doorway. He wore a old, stripped _yukata_ over his shoulders like a robe to keep himself decent.

And somehow Ryou's specific _un-nakedness_ made the rest of us realize that we were all standing around in the hallway together naked, and joking about consensual biting.

"Anyway." Marik clutched the towel around his waist as if he were suddenly afraid of it falling down. He looked specifically flustered, and seeing him and Kek half a meter away from each other- and naked- made me have to stuff a few fantasies into the back of my head.

 _Filed under "things to jerk off to next time I'm alone."_

"I'm coming- I mean I'm on my way." Kek stuttered, embarrassed at first, but then I noticed his face soften.

"Why do you look so happy?" I frowned, wondering if he was about to blab to Marik some other secret about me without Marik having to do any work for the answer.

"Nothing, I just… I am happy, I guess. It's about time you get a shower buddy, you fucking night owl."

Yeah, yeah, I never joined in on the morning showers. In my defense- sleep!

"Rooster." I shot back in response to the night owl comment.

"Saying I'm a big cock?" Kek grinned as he turned to go meet Ryou back in the bedroom.

"That's essentially him saying you're a big dick," Marik smirked.

"Takes one to know one." Kek rolled his eyes.

"Oh that's so mature." Marik snorted.

"Now, now, you're both pretty." I gave them each a shot with a finger. I mean, why else would I have two hands if not for shooting at Marik and Kek?

"Whatever, I'm going to bed." Kek picked Ryou up and spun him in the air before setting him back to his feet. Ryou giggled and visibly blushed at the treatment- he always did when Kek picked him up like he weighed nothing.

"Ryou, don't let him eat the kittens," Marik said.

"Kek would never!" Ryou laughed, roughing up Kek's already rough hair.

As if they'd summoned them, Marik, Kek, and Ryou's kittens all chased each other into the bedroom in some bizarre three way tag game. There was a crash and Kek ran into the room.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys!"

"No amount of coffee is getting me through work tomorrow." Ryou sighed and disappeared to go do damage control.

I shivered, all the steam long gone from the bathroom, and slipped back into my boxers and tank top, although I guess it was sort of useless to put clothes on at this point. Everyone in the apartment had seen me naked before, but Marik was putting on his pajamas, so I figured it'd be easier to copy him. I found the little black and white kitten sleeping on my pillow. Little bastard. I rubbed the top of her head and set her down on the floor.

"Go play with the others. You can really piss off Kek and Ryou then."

The kitten did not give one fuck about what I said to it. The second Marik and I settled together under the blanket, she jumped back onto the couch and curled up in a little swirl between our feet.

"Fine, but if I kick you in the night it's not my problem," I muttered, not that she cared.

"What are you going to name her?"

"Diabound VII."

"Where's I-VI?" Marik asked.

"That is a military secret."

"Wait, that name sounds familiar." Marik paused for a moment as he thought. "There was a demon-"

"It wasn't a demon! Diabound was a god ka! I told those goat-fuckers a dozen times when we fought!"

"Thought so." Marik smirked. "That was your ka, wasn't it?"

"Diabound _is_ my ka. I'm alive again."

"Show me." Marik poked me chest.

"Magic's not exactly accepted these days." I snorted. "Probably not a good idea to summon my enormous ka into Ryou's apartment living room."

"Enormous, huh?" Marik smirked as he slipped his hand down my pants and started toying with my cock.

"Hm… well, it was too big for the stone slabs to contain it."

"Yeah? Tell me more." Marik hummed as he coaxed me to full length.

I grunted, closing my eyes as static electricity prickled up and down my spine for his touch. "You're just.. milking me for information, aren't you?"

"Definitely _milking_ you, yes." Marik nibbled at the side of my throat.

Word play. My biggest weakness. I had to curl my feet up to not actually kick the kitten. I slung my top leg over Marik and hitched into his touch.

"Better start talking, or I'll have to stop."

"I… what am I talking about?" I asked. I'd honestly forgotten. Marik's thumb was teasing the head of my cock and fuck yes, what were words?

"Anything. Just tell me about yourself."

"I was... born during _Peret_ , right after the wheat seeds were sprouting in the fields. My family were still builders, when I was a baby. It wasn't until … I was four? That they started stealing from… tombs… Marik-"

"Don't stop. This is fun." Marik purred in my ear, but his sultry voice didn't help my concentration.

"Swimming."

"What about it?"

"Favorite sport. Used to swim… in the Nile."

"So there _is_ something that will get you outside." Marik chuckled.

"Indoor pools. Future is great."

"You wouldn't go to the beach with me?" Marik teased.

"Marik… I'll go to hell and back with you… _oh gods_." I reached back to the tissues, but obviously I couldn't reach them. Really wanted to go fuck in my bed again. Sheets were easier to wash than upholstery and the couch was only fun for afternoon quickies.

"Tell me more details."

"Too close." I grit my teeth.

Marik slowed down and I whimpered, fuck ego and fuck dignity. I wanted to come. Growling, I used the break to grab some cursed fucking tissues, and then kissed Marik just to do something with my mouth that wasn't talking. He indulged the kissing, but stayed slow with his fingers and my balls started to ache from want of release, so I pulled away and started rambling.

"I had a breathing sickness. Ate garlic all the time. Sometimes I had to bake bread with my mom because I couldn't play with the other kids. I liked when the coriander bloomed every year, and I couldn't remember shit in the Ring, but I swear to the gods the first time I saw you I had a weird flashback of standing near the river while my horse drank and looking around at all the coriander blossoms. _Ah Marik, fuck!_ And for twenty whole seconds, while we stood there and glared at each other, I'd never felt more human since before I had the Ring. So Ryou wasn't quite right when he said I liked lilac. I like anything… that color. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, Marik don't stop!_ "

Marik's hand were coarse with callouses, but something about the way he worked them reminded me of Kek with his mouth, and _holy fuck was it good_. Marik didn't stop, although my rambling had de-evolved to low moans, but he did bury his face in my chest.

"I thought you liked red?" he whispered.

"Do. In general."

I only liked lavender when it was flowers, or Marik's eyes- how the fuck do I end up confessing these things? Fuck it, I didn't care. There was only Marik's touch at that moment. Colors didn't exist. Words didn't exist. I bucked, and bucked, and probably screamed his name, or a curse, or some sort of noise. I didn't know. I just felt my balls tighten and hardly had enough sense to use the tissue to keep from cumming all over Marik's pajamas. Once the rush of orgasm settled, I was ready to collapse into Marik's arms and pass out, but Marik surprised me as he clutched at my shirt and sobbed.

"Marik?" I pushed up on my side, petting his hair. "Is… it your back?"

I didn't know why else he could be crying.

"Are you…" he sniffled, "seriously saying the first time you saw me, you thought of flowers in Egypt? Growing outside?"

Oooooh, okay. Bullshit happy tears. Got it. As long as he wasn't upset. I kissed Marik's forehead. Fuck it. I guess I'm an official sap. Too bad Zorc wasn't still lurking in my mind. Seeing me like this would have made him shit out 24 karat gold eggs while his head exploded like a piñata and sprayed candy over a 12 mile radius. I reminded myself to tell Kek and Ryou about that thought later since it was right up there with their weird humor, but refocused on carding my fingers through Marik's hair.

"Only for a moment, then I promise you I was exactly the kind of asshole you thought I was." I wiped the tears away from his cheeks as the burst of emotion passed.

"Hey, Bakura?" Marik grinned as he smeared one last tear off of his cheek that I had missed.

"Yeah?"

"Does this mean… that our love is in full bloom?"

My mouth dropped, and I froze for a moment before playfully shoving his chest and laughing. "Oh shut the fuck up- that was amazing!"


	44. Ryou 13

By my last break I already had to tell three people that I couldn't work their shift this weekend. I wasn't sure what party or concert or event had everyone rushing to be off, but there wasn't a single chance I'd miss an opportunity to spend an entire weekend gaming with Bakura, Kek, and Marik. I tried to be polite about it, but my eyes burned with fatigue, and my head was light with exhaustion, and if one more person asked me to cover their shift I was going to scream.

After my break, I spent the rest of the day scanning scrapbook accessories and covering up their price tags with clearance stickers. It was redundant busywork, but at least it allowed me to daydream for the last two hours before my shift ended. I tried to think about our Monster World campaign, but everything sorta spiralled out of control and somehow became a group nap fantasy.

It'd be so nice. To curl up, half buried in people. Bonus points if the kittens curled up beside us. Although, R.I.P. Kek's kitten if he pounces on Kek's foot again. Then again, if he's half as tired as I am, he won't have the energy to chase a kitten around the apartment today. I hope he wants a nap. Maybe I can't have my fantasy cuddle pile, but I sure won't turn down cocooning myself with Kek before falling asleep in his arms.

I was sleepwalking by the time I clocked out for the day. Kek waited for me as usual. He yawned as we started walking down the street.

"Want to take a nap when we get home?" He asked.

"I love when you speak my fantasies out loud." I smiled at him.

He snorted, but the corner of his mouth quirked upward in a grin. He looked up at the sky, "I was thinking of Hamyaa."

"For what?" I asked, not understanding.

"His name. It means Protector."

"Oh that's sweet." I nodded. "I was thinking about naming mine Jason."

"That's… why?"

"His face is white, but there's little gray spots on his nose that make me think of a hockey mask."

"Hockey mask?"

"Have we not watched Friday the 13th?" I gasped.

"Nope."

"Well, dammit. We'll have to watch it, then."

"Is it gorey?"

"Of course!"

A broader grin lit up Kek's face. "A date with you and a gruesome horror movie? Now you're speaking _my_ fantasies out loud."

"My fantasy first. I'd fall asleep during a movie right now."

"Same." Kek dropped his head.

When we got home, Marik and Bakura were already sleeping on the sofa. Must have been nice to sleep in _and_ take a nap in the afternoon. Still, they looked adorable. They looked like literal angels with all Marik's golden and Bakura's feather-white hair twined together against their pillows. I wanted to cup their faces and smile when they woke up from the touch. Marik's kitten was on Marik's chest and Bakura's and mine were on either side of Bakura's feet. Uh-oh, that meant Hamyaa was loose somewhere in the house- probably ready to pounce on Kek's feet the moment we laid down.

"I'm strong enough to carry Marik to bed if you can get Bakura," Kek whispered into my head.

I covered my mouth as I giggled. I _could_ carry Bakura, at least the short distance to the bed. I mean, what a shame we were all napping, but in separate rooms, right? My giggle turned into a sigh. One last moment I stared at them before going into the kitchen and finding the cat food Bakura had brought home with him. The second the kibble hit the dish, all four of the little furballs swarmed the bowl. I gave Jason a quick stroke and left them alone to fight it out.

Hand-in-hand, Kek and I walked into our room and snuggled under the covers. I buried my face against his chest and melted into the halo of warmth surrounding him. He had showered at the gym and had a faint scent of soap clinging to his body mixed with the warmth of the sun that had soaked into his skin as we walked. It was such a lovely, simple smell, and his chest was so warm and broad as I crushed myself to him, that I couldn't help but spider walk my fingers up his back as I held him. I was still dizzy tired, but that somehow didn't stop me from from pressing little kisses against his body in hopes of riling him up. I knew I had succeeded when I heard the familiar, comforting _kekeke_ escape him.

We tugged each other's shirts up over our heads so we could draw on bare skin instead of cotton. My fingers circled around his nipples, and I watched in fascination as they perked up from my gentle touch. I couldn't resist, and my tongue rolled over the buds and circled around them. Kek gave a muffled huff through his nose, trying to be quiet. We always _try_ to be quiet, but we're awful at it. I get carried away, and the moment I give in to all the noises I want to moan, Kek gives up even trying to repress himself. We're gasping as our hands travel lower, hips, tummies, pelvises. Kek is still sculpted like a god and his cock tented up his sweat pants in a way that begged me to slip my hand below his waistline. Kek gasped loudly, and I pressed my finger against his lips, teasing him with muted little _shhhh, shhhh, shhhh's_.

He grit his teeth and growled against my finger, getting back at me by grabbing me in return. His hand was more warm than his chest and it wrapped all around my shaft. I bit my bottom lip, breath sputtering in my throat as I try to keep quiet myself. I didn't want to wake them up, but each stroke made it harder. I bit Kek's throat. His breathing grew rough and uneven, but he managed not to call out, holding out as long as I did. Sharp, shivering jolts of pleasure stabbed through me, I bit harder, I bit harder, but in the end it was too good not to through my head back. The scream was silent, my mouth an O and my cheeks burning like Kek was the sun and I was too close, like his heat might melt my wax wings, but like Icarus I couldn't help but fly higher. My hips bucked-bucked-bucked-bucked-bucked-

"Hey guys, sorry if you're asleep, but I was wondering if you wanted- shit! Sorry!"

 _Fuck_.

Seconds before the joy of orgasm could flood through me- Marik walked in.

'I'm really sorry." Marik laughed, leaning against the door frame and staring at the door, but I noticed his eyes kept flicking in our general direction.

We sat up, my arms were crossed over my chest, but Kek crossed his fingers behind his head and leaned back like an open invitation. I almost laughed. I wished I was that comfortable being naked in front of someone new. Then I remembered that I wasn't the only one in the room with scars, and I lowered my hands down to my lap, less conscious of my chest.

"You were so quiet, that I honestly thought you were both asleep." Marik stared down the hallway. "You're never quiet."

"Sorry," I muttered. "We try."

"I don't." Kek combed his spikes with his fingers.

"Anyway. Just wondering if you wanted take out? You made dinner for us last night, and I wanted to return the favor, but I don't know how to cook."

'Yes, thank you. That's very sweet."

"Damn, I'm going to have to go on a calorie cut once you leave." Kek shoved a pillow over his head.

"Do you want something specific?" Marik glanced back in our direction.

Kek lifted the pillow up enough to talk. "A double bacon cheeseburger- Bakura knows the one-"

"But you were just bitching about-"

"Yeah, I know, but I'm tired, and stressed, and kinda frustrated at the moment, so fuck it. Cheeseburger."

"Ryou?" Marik tried to look down the hallway again, but everytime he spoke, he'd turn back to us.

"Milkshake please."

"Dinner, Ryou," Kek shot me _a look_.

"With fries." I grinned.

Kek used his pillow to smack me and I burst into laughter, grabbing at his wrists and trying to keep the pillow away from my head. Kek slung his leg around me, and before I knew it, we wrestled ourselves off the edge of the bed, tumbling naked onto the floor. Fortunately I was only half hard, or it might have hurt more than it did, but it still wasn't a pleasant landing, and then Kek started tickling and my heel struck the sideboard of the bed as I kicked out.

"Oh no! Stop! Help! Marik, make him stop!" I screamed in laughter as Kek's fingers dug into my ribs.

"Okay, well… I guess I'll leave you two to your nap." Marik snorted, grinning, but not helping.

Dammit Marik, be chivalrous a _rescue_ me!

Clothing optional for all daring rescues, naturally.

I shrieked again as Kek tickled lower on my ribs. I couldn't even tell if it tickled more or if it was starting to swing back to foreplay.

"Bakura! Help!"

I wanted it to be Marik, but he looked too flustered to move, so perhaps Bakura would save the day. And by save the day, I mean somehow knot everything together like he did when he had kissed me the first time.

Bakura did appear, my thief in shining red hoodie. He walked right up to Kek and poked his forehead.

"Sunflora."

"Dammit! Don't call me that in front of Marik!" Kek wrapped a sheet around his waist and leapt back onto the mattress.

I stared up at Bakura. A little shocked. Why… wasn't he _doing anything_? I was lying helpless on the floor and instead of dragging Marik over to us, he wrapped a blanket over me and grinned like he was doing me a favor. Bakura, you IDIOT! Don't be a decent human being. You've never been a decent human being one single day in your life and I _forbid you_ to be decent THE ONE TIME I need you to be a selfish prick!

"What's a Sunflora?" Marik asked.

"What?" Bakura and I both screamed at once.

"How do you not know that?" Bakura asked, grabbing Marik and leading him into the living room. "Let's go get dinner and then I'll catch you up on the anime while they sleep."

I rolled my eyes and slipped back in bed next to Kek as we heard the door open and close.

"Hey Ryou?" Kek asked.

"Yeah?"

"They're gone now."

I lidded my eyes, staring at Kek like I wanted him to pounce on me. "Oh? Are they?"

"You know what that means?"

"Hmmm?"

He threw the blankets back to the ground and pinned my wrists over my head. "That means we can be as loud as we want."


	45. Kek 11

*****At some point in every cat owner's life, they have eaten an entire meal with their plate held up over their head.*****

* * *

I stared down at Ryou and licked my lips. He was too beautiful, and I was too pent up from before Marik interrupted us. I was still exhausted, but at this point, there was no way we were going to get a good nap in before they got back with dinner, and 20 minutes of sleeping would just make us both more groggy than we already were. I figured if we were going to be exhausted, might as well _earn_ it.

Our wrestling had revealed the bottle of lube hiding in the sheets from last night. I grabbed it with my free hand and saturated Ryou's cock, stroking it until it was good and hard. I had to let go of his wrists in order to crouch over him and stuff my fingers up my ass. I didn't bother with much prepping, just enough to get ready. I held Ryou's cock up like a pole and then impaled myself. The rush was like free falling, my guts tingled and my cock already ached to be touched. Ryou moaned as I slid down his shaft and grabbed my outer thighs.

I bent down, keeping myself fully sheathed, but not yet moving. I rolled my tongue along his chest, flicking at his nipples and nibbling up to his collarbone. Ryou slid his hands up my back, nails digging near my shoulders, his favorite spot to pierce when he got carried away in bed. I shifted forward and backward, only enough to tease. Ryou slammed his eyes shut and held his breath to keep from moaning.

I licked up his throat and then nibbled at his earlobe, whispering, "Where are my screams of ecstasy? No one's around to hear you, so stop being polite."

"Fuck, Kek! Faster!" Ryou shouted at the ceiling, his face glowing the color of cherry blossoms.

I stayed hunched over his chest so I could kiss him, but I circled my hips a little faster. Ryou moaned into each kiss, nails still biting against my scars. I love how he never treated them like they were special. He always grabbed, and smacked, and scratched my back during sex like it was any other part of me. Marik would need delicacy, the tight skin and constant ache always bothered him, but I didn't give a fuck, and as Ryou scored his nails down the rest of my back, I had to break our kiss to scream in pleasure myself.

I sat up, changing the angle of Ryou's cock inside me and making myself shudder. There was no teasing anymore, just me bouncing up and down, using my core to pull up and slam down and my pelvic floor muscles to clench my asshole around Ryou's cock and make him scream even louder.

"Ryou," I moaned, losing myself to my own rhythm and pleasure.

" _Oh fuck! Oh fuck, Kek! Oh fuck!"_

I wanted to drag things out a little longer, but if Bakura and Marik walked through the door and interrupted us again, I swear to Min I wouldn't stop riding Ryou until we finished. _I couldn't stop if I wanted to._ Besides, it was nothing Bakura hadn't seen before, and no matter how many times Marik had tried to stare in any other direction, I noticed his stare always dragged right back to the sight of us.

Ryou grabbed my cock and my thoughts unravelled as the primal drive of fucking seized both my body and mind. I reached back behind me and cupped Ryou's balls, rolling them in my hand as he continued to curse and stroke my cock.

" _Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn. Kek, you're making me cum!"_

His voice was too sweet as he screamed the words. I watched his face twist in orgasm and waited until he sighed in relief before I stopped fondling him and focused on fucking into his clenched fist. He was still hard and inside me, so I used the last moment of his erection to rock and moan and allow everything to sweep me up until my own orgasm embraced me.

I wrapped Ryou in my arms afterward and held him like the world would end if I let go. Nuzzling his soft white hair, I sighed, and kissed the side of his head.

"I love you so much," I whispered, loopy from sleep-deprivation and orgasm.

"Love you too." Ryou smile, eyes closed and breathing slowing as he hung on the edge of being awake and asleep.

The door opened and shut, and we could hear bickering. I forced my tired eyes opened, trying to decide if I should pass out and eat the burger cold, or get up for hot food.

"Milkshake." Ryou grinned, his eyes still closed.

"You going to get up?"

"I don't want it to melt." Ryou kissed me, but then his face was against my chest like he was going to fall asleep. I laid there and stroked his hair instead of getting up myself.

"Oi, oi!" Bakura's voice echoed down the hallway. He appeared in the same spot Marik had stood before, only there was no trace of shyness in his face as he gave us both a lurid, approving stare. "Marik has sent me as emissary to fetch you both for dinner."

"What if we want breakfast in bed?" Ryou popped up high enough so that my body didn't muffle his voice.

"Yeah." I smirked, understanding Ryou's game. "Have Marik bring the food to us."

"Are you kidding? He's still blushing from earlier."

They heard Marik screaming, _I am not_ from the living room and all of them laughed. I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted back.

"I don't see why you're so shy! We literally shared your body for six years!"

"We didn't share anything!" Marik was at the end of the hallway now. I could barely catch sight of half of him from my in-bed view point. "We _fought_ over my body!"

"It sounds so much more passionate when you say it like that!" I chuckled as I grabbed my sweatpants off of the floor and jumped into them. "Where's my burger?"

"I gave it to Bakura!" Marik shouted.

"And I ate it. Ryou's milkshake was dessert." Bakura winked and disappeared.

"Don't you dare touch my milkshake!" Ryou jumped up and dashed for the door before remembering he was naked and wrapping himself in his _yukata_.

We washed up in the sink really quick and then found Marik and Bakura in the kitchen. Our food was already set out on paper plates, and I started laughing.

"What?" Marik asked.

"What the fuck, Bakura?" I stared at him. "Since when have we _ever_ eaten takeout in the kitchen? Since the first day we've been back, burgers are for the living room floor while we game."

Bakura shrugged, taking a huge bite of his burger to avoid the conversation.

"You just sat down at the table like a bitch because Marik brought the food in here, didn't you?"

"Fuck you," Bakura grumbled with a full mouth.

"Okay, but you'll have to top because I'm a little tired." I sat at his other side, leaning back in my chair and winking at Marik, who looked quite flustered again.

"Is that all you ever think about?" Marik stared at his food.

"Actually, protein and workouts are usually what he thinks about." Ryou sat down in the last chair. He grabbed a chicken strip and gave it an unimpressed look before taking a bite because he knew if he didn't eat one before his milkshake I would yank the cup from his hand.

I was nowhere near done taunting either Marik or Bakura, but sharp little pricks attacked my shin and then crawled up to my thigh.

"Fuck!" I growled, looking down and seeing Hamyaa crawling into my lap. He used me as a platform to peak over the tabletop, wanting to lick my burger. I snatched him and placed him back onto the floor. "Kitty, get down!"

"It's hard to take you seriously when you just called that cat, 'kitty,'" Bakura laughed.

 _Hamyaa, please go away, I'm trying to be aggravating and seductive both at once and you're ruining my bad boy style._

But Hamyaa had no intentions of going anywhere but right back up my pant leg. By the third attempt, I just held him with one arm and pinched off a taste of my burger, hoping it would make him behave.

"Kek, don't do that. You'll teach him that he can get away with it."

I took a bite myself before giving the orange kitten another taste. "But look at him? What am I supposed to do?"

"Put it in his dish, at least."

So I carried him to his food bowl, dropping a bit of burger into it and then going back to eat myself. He sniffed at the food, and then raced back to my leg, climbing up the fabric and my skin.

"Ouch, you little asshole!" I grabbed him and feed him by hand again, shooting a _so much for your idea_ look at Ryou. He parried with his own glance that said _you'll still regret this later_ , but I ignored that look and shared my food anyway. It worked really well until Bakura and Marik's kitten decided to climb up my legs as well.

"Hey, deal with your cats. I don't have enough hands to feed them all."

"No." Matik smirked at me.

Bakura took a bite and lured his kitten over to him. He dropped the morsel on the floor near his feet and his kitten ate it. She cleaned her whiskers and licked her lips afterward, content to curl up beside Bakura's feet instead of demanding more.

"Why can't you be good like that?" I stared at Hamyaa and pointed to the black and white kitten.

Hamyaa responded by batting at Marik's kitten. I scooped Hamyaa up with both hands and set him on top of my head. The spikes of hair created a little nest and he actually settled down after that. I was able to eat after that, holding my food with my hands while using my elbow to keep Marik's kitten away from the table. Of course Ryou had his cell phone out so he could film the entire thing.

"Send that one to me." Marik grinned.

"Okay, any other ones you want?"

"Anything embarrassing, of course." Marik grinned.

"Ryou, don't you dare." Bakura narrowed his brows.

"I'm sorry, Bakura, but you've been too tame since Marik came back. I'm going to have to start causing trouble in your place, otherwise Ma'at will fall apart."

"I am _not tame_!"

"Oh? So you're actually nice and you've been holding back on us this whole time?" Ryou raised an eyebrow.

Of course Ryou was teasing, but I think the statement was more true than Bakura wanted to admit. Bakura _was_ amiable enough, more sarcastic than wicked, once he had half a chance to be himself.

"Fuck you, Ryou!"

"Okay, but you're to have to top because I'm a little tired-"

"Kek already made that joke!"

"I'm aware." Ryou grabbed his milkshake and sucked at his straw. The way he looked at Bakura said that he wasn't joking, he was _challenging_ _Bakura_ , but I knew Bakura wasn't going to do a damn thing because he didn't want to upset Marik.

Marik, on the other hand, sat and listened to the banter with the same kind of look on his face Hamyaa had when he wanted my burger. I'm pretty sure he wished Bakura would accept Ryou's challenge, but Bakura was too busy thinking about how he shouldn't do it to notice that maybe he actually should-

I paused in my own thoughts, thinking about my first few days alive, suddenly sure this was a similar situation. Back then Ryou and I pined for each other, and only Bakura had enough sense to notice it and tie it all together, but now Bakura was as worried about offending Marik as I had been with Ryou. It made me wonder what Marik would do if I kissed him?

No, not him, I realized. He'd probably slap me because it'd be too sudden and his reaction was always to panic whenever something sudden happened to his body (fuck our childhoods). Maybe I should kiss Bakura? Marik was unconsciously teasing his bottom lip with the end of his straw, as if he had kissing on his mind. I wished I hadn't sat beside Bakura because that meant he and Ryou were across from each other instead of beside each other. I'm pretty sure if they kissed, Marik would feel the same thrill deep in his belly and happy swelling in his chest that I always felt when I watched them kiss.

I brushed Marik's kitten off of my lap, wanting to pull Ryou on top of me instead. I was sure this would work. It was a crazy plan, _but it would work_. However, Hamyaa took that opportunity to put his own plan into action. He dive bombed from my head onto the table, stole Ryou's last chicken strip, and leapt down with the other two kittens racing after him.

"You fucking asshole!" I jumped to my feet and chased after them.

It was no good, all four kittens hid under the sofa, taking turns nipping at their stolen treasure. I could have moved the whole couch, but… I didn't really care. Actually, I giggled as I watched the way they all fought over and shared the food both at once. It was really cute. I was more upset at Hamyaa for ruining the mood- and he had ruined the mood. Before I could get back into the kitchen, the others came into the living room to watch Pokémon, and all the spicy, fumbling tension between Bakura and Ryou had been disbursed by _awww aren't the kittens cute_ conversation. Damn it! I'm sure there'd be plenty of opportunities in the next few days, but I was still pissed that I hadn't had a chance to test my theory.


	46. Marik 9

_In the dream, Bakura looked the same as in Battle City, but it was his own body. Ryou was there too and we were folding clothes and talking about a trip we had planned for awhile. All the shirts were bright white, white as their hair, and something in my brain told me that they were the wrong clothes, but I kept folding them and laughing as Bakura told knock knock jokes. Ryou was the one that asked about Kek. I looked around the room, expecting to find him, but he wasn't there. That's when I realized that the shirts were all the same because he was missing, and they wouldn't go back to normal unless we found him._

 _That's when Ryou threw the suitcases on the ground and said we couldn't go to the airport without Kek, but of course we wouldn't. I'd never go to the airport without everyone, not in the dream I wouldn't. None of us thought to check any of the other rooms. It was a dream, leaving was impossible. Ryou grabbed Bakura and hid his face in Bakura's chest. Bakura comforted him by lifting up Ryou's chin and kissing him. My entire body burned at the sight of them. All I could do was watch in fascination as their lips played against one another._

 _They had had clothes on, I think. I'm pretty sure they had their Battle City clothes at the beginning of the dream, but now they were naked and brushing their fingers long the expanse of white from their bodies. Ryou shoved Bakura down to the mattress and crawled on top of him. He flipped around so he could ease his ass down onto Bakura's face while taking Bakura's shaft into his mouth and bobbing his head up and down. I moaned and my entire body shuddered. Their bodies were an eternal spiral of white skin and white hair and gods save me it was hot._

 _And I was going to join them. Yes, hell yes, I was going to join them. We couldn't leave until Kek came back anyway, so there was no reason for me not to crawl into bed with them and kiss all that perfectly flushed skin of thiers. Besides, I was fairly sure- by virtue of my own dream logic- that us all piling in bed together would somehow draw Kek to the room. Like, if we just all got into bed together, then the shirts would turn into our real clothes and then we could all go to the airport._

I woke up, and I held my breath to keep myself from growling at the loss of the dream. My body was hot and aching, almost close enough to come without touching myself. One single moment more of dreaming probably would have been enough. _Fuck_.

I moaned again, a mix of embarrassment and frustration. Those idiots. Couldn't they have just taken a nap yesterday instead of fooling around? I couldn't get the sight of Ryou's pre-O face from my mind. How could I help it? That used to be Bakura's body. Obviously that was what the dream had been about.

No. I had to remind myself. It was never Bakura's, always Ryou's, but my brain still associated Ryou with Bakura, and that just made everything that I was confused about more confusing. I slipped off the sofa, stretched, stumbled into the kitchen to make coffee. I kept shaking my head as the water heated up. The impression of the dream clung to my thoughts, and it was tormenting me. As I watched the pot fill up, Kek walked into the kitchen rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Oh good, you have it going already." Kek pressed his forehead between my shoulder blades and slung his arms over my shoulders. "You're the best, Marik."

"Don't touch." I cringed when his weight pressed into the sundisk on my back.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Everyone else lets me hang on them. I wasn't thinking-"

"Doesn't your back hurt there?" I turned and looked at him, almost happy for the distraction.

"Shit. Your back. I knew better." He winced and placed his hands on my shoulders again, but this time to knead at the skin. "Mine's tight, but emotions hurt so much more that I never really think about my back."

I gasped from Kek's touch and clutched at the counter. That dream still had me whirling, so Kek's hands on my skin were more sensitive than they would have been otherwise. I felt a shiver run up and down my spine and I bit my bottom lip to hold back a moan. The warmth from his palms felt a little _too_ good as it soaked into my skin.

"D-does it bother you? This?" Kek murmured.

I blinked my eyes opened, not realizing I had shut them until the coffee pot came back into focus. Everything came into focus at that moment. Kek was touching my scars and I hadn't even flinched. It was like a little part of my brain was still sleeping and in the dream. It was odd, but in the dream I felt close to all of them, much more intimate than I had when I used the Rod to pry into Ryou's mind for the sake of killing Yugi. And that lingering sense of closeness had dropped my usual shields entirely.

"You're okay." I shrugged beneath his hands, yearning for the feelings of the dream despite knowing that they were nothing more than stupid, empty echoes from my subconscious.

"Can I touch your hair?"

"What?" I frowned, caught off guard by Kek's simple question, and I hated to be caught off guard.

"I want to compare it to mine. See?"

I turned around and saw Kek tugging at his spikes. Reaching out, I dragged my fingers through the strip he held, separating the strands. "Oh wow. It's smooth, but stiff." I combed through his hair again. "Nice to play with though."

He gave me a tentative smile, and my brain still struggled with moments like this where the former manifestation of my rage and torment was standing in front of me as his own person with a full range of emotions and some very tender, endearing expressions. He reached up, pausing his fingers just above my hair. I nodded consent and he combed down the side of my hair.

"It's soft." He said, but I was convinced that his expression was softer than my hair. "Smells nice, too."

"Th-thanks," I muttered, a little dizzy with the surrealism of the moment caused by both my dream and Kek's gentle behavior. I leaned forward, wanting to smell his hair and compare the difference.

"I didn't wash it yesterday because I was tired." He fluffed his hair back into place, bashful. "Just used dry shampoo."

I smiled, cupping his face and leaning in anyway. I swear he trembled beneath my fingers, but that could have been a dream-induced hallucination. "It still smells nice with the dry shampoo."

He giggled.

I didn't know what to do with that.

I smiled, and looked at him. His face was scrunched up, and a little dark, and he was giggling as if my compliment tickled. My fingers itched to cup his face again, but Ryou and Bakura walked in, and my heart leapt into my throat. They bumped shoulders, laughing at something they'd said before entering the kitchen, and watching their white hair bounce around their faces made me think of how gorgeous they looked in bed together and I grew light-headed.

"Are you okay?" Kek touched the side of my arm, his face twisted in concern.

"Fine." I grabbed the coffee pot and started pouring four cups, refilling the machine with another round so it'd be ready with our breakfast.

"You made coffee? You're the best, Marik." Ryou stepped close to grab a mug, and for a second I thought he was going to nuzzle me like Kek had and I nearly leapt out of my skin.

"Watch his back, Ryou." Kek stepped between us, but he kissed Ryou good morning, and that somehow made all the tension in my belly worse.

It was as exhilarating to watch as the dream kiss between Ryou and Bakura had been. Only this time it wasn't a dream, and they were almost pressed against me they stood so close. Ryou held out his coffee cup to avoid spilling it, trapping me on one side, and they stood right in front of me. My only escape was the last area, and Bakura stood waiting for me with a pout on his face.

"Hey, where's my good morning kiss?"

"Do you want one?" Kek perked up, spinning around and leaning close to Bakura, although that blocked me in place again.

"Back off, he's mine," I snapped, more because I was hard up _and_ trapped and not because of any real claim I felt on Bakura.

I lifted Bakura up, slammed him against the table, crawled on top of him, and took his fucking breath away. I felt the tightness of his chest as his breathing stopped from the surprise of my actions, and then he was mewling against my lips. I pushed my tongue into his mouth, trying to force all the tension out of my body with this small act of indulgence. I finally had to rise up for air myself, and I panted and stared down at him. His eyes blown out, and his mouth hung open as he gasped.

"Good morning, 'Kura." I grinned, pressing my finger against his nose.

"Holy shit," Bakura muttered to himself.

That made me laugh. I was just about to crawl off the table when I noticed Ryou filming us. "You really are fond of catching everything, aren't you?"

"Sorry." Ryou flushed and hit the stop button on his screen. "I guess it was rude. It's just such a habit. I'll delete i-"

"Send it to me," I said. I really did want to see it. I hope it _looked_ as badass as it _felt_.

"Okay." Ryou beamed, sipping on his coffee as he swiped with his thumb.

I heard several beeps from my phone in the living room. I was on my way to fetch my cellphone when the I heard shattering glass and Ryou swear.

"Shit! Sorry, uh- Marik! Don't open the second one!" Ryou shouted. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Let me delete it for you, please."

"What?" I glanced over my wasn't even concerned about the coffee splashed over the floor or the fragments of glass around his bare feet. He picked his way through the mess, trying to get to the doorway before I did.

"I didn't mean to send that second one. I sent the one of you, and was going to send one of Bakura and Kek doing a push up contest, but I picked the one before that and- I'll just delete it!"

Ha, no way he was going to delete it. I dashed in front of him and raced for my phone. Ryou and Bakura both chased me, Kek laughing from the kitchen, but I reached my phone, dashed to the bathroom, and managed to slam and lock the door before either could get me.

"Marik! You don't want to see that! It's super embarrassing!" Ryou whined from the other side of the door.

"Then I definitely want to see it!" I cheered, clutching the phone to my chest.

"Well, don't say he didn't warn you!" Bakura called through the door.

"Please, Marik! It's not safe for work!"

"Too bad! Next time be more careful!"

I slid my ass down to the floor so I could get comfortable. The cool door felt good on my back, I was burning up between being hot and bothered, kissing, and then running. Whatever video had Ryou pounding on the door and yelling was probably going to just make everything worse all over again. I was already dreaming about them kissing. I didn't need to see it in a video, but…

I shuddered as I thought of the dream. Damn, I wanted to see it anyway. The dream. The moment in the kitchen with Kek. All the time I've spent with Bakura over the last few days. It was too much, and I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to see what I've been missing out on those months I was in Ghana. I heard Kek speaking to Ryou, Ryou protesting, Kek and Bakura both laughing and pulling Ryou away. Bakura muffled some sort of reply and then there was silence. They'd left me alone, an unsupervised kid in a candy store. I liked my lips and check my messages. I watched myself first- and yes, I did look as badass as I had felt when I done it, and then I found the second video.

And hit play.


	47. Bakura 11

"Why is he so difficult?" Ryou buried his face in his hands as Kek and I led him back to the living room.

I had to laugh at that. Why was _Marik Ishtar_ so difficult? Why was the sky blue? Why was water wet? Why were adonis belts sexy as fuck on a guy with nice abs? Some things are just what they are.

"He probably wants to use that video against me somehow." I shrugged.

"You think so?" Kek hummed, he looked like he was thinking about something. "I'm not so sure that's his only reason."

"Which one did you send anyway?" I asked Ryou.

"One of the fun ones."

"Yeah, I know, but which one?"

"One of the _really_ fun ones." Ryou sighed. "Remember that time we blindfolded you and kept making you guess who was who?"

"Oh good." Kek's teeth clinked as a predatory grin spread across his face. "Marik will love that one."

"Wait, you filmed that?" I asked. I remembered doing it, but I didn't know Ryou was- but I _should_ have known. Of course he was. It was Ryou. Ryou filming everything was like Marik being difficult, some things were meant to be in this world.

"I told you I was," Ryou said.

"Yeah, you told him when I had my mouth on him." Kek laughed. "He didn't hear shit."

"Well, damn, I want to see the video."

Ryou blushed. "Right now?"

"Of course right now! I need to see what Marik's looking at!" I stole Ryou's phone and plopped on the couch.

Ryou dropped to my right and Kek to my left. It felt good, like old times, to have them sitting beside me. Pssh, _old times_ , like it was more than a few days ago, but it felt like months somehow. Whatever. Time is bullshit. Regardless, it was still nice to have those two idiots cuddling beside me as we settled down to watch some wholesome, homemade porn - while Marik happened to be sitting in the bathroom watching the same porn. I'd say I had the better deal. The sofa was a lot more comfortable than the bathroom floor.

 _I'm filming this, okay?_ Ryou's voice sounded through the phone's speaker.

"Told you," Ryou's real voice said beside my ear.

"Shhh," Kek put his finger to his mouth.

I was on the screen with a black silk scarf tied around my eyes and Kek's lips sealed delightfully around my cock. Just looking at it brought back the memory of Kek's tongue lapping at my flesh as he sucked me into a wailing mess.

 _Not quite yet, Kek. Let's have some fun with him first._

 _This is fun!_ I screamed. _Very fun! Let me be!_

 _Kekeke_ Kek pulled his mouth away, leaving me growling in frustration.

I had to laugh at myself. In the video I sounded way more pissed than I actually was. In fact, I had been looking forward to whatever surprise Ryou came up with, and in hindsight it had been fun.

 _Here are the rules_ , video Ryou explained. _One of use will tease you and if you guess right, you get sucked for thirty seconds, but if you guess wrong you get a extra thirty seconds of penalty teasing_.

 _Ha! Easy! Bring it on!_

There was a moment's pause where I watched myself squirm in anticipation. Nothing could wipe the grin off of my face as I watched this. I looked damn good arching against the blankets with my hair a mess around my face and my muscles straining to be touched. Knowing that Malik was watching as well made my stomach hitch. Enjoy the show, motherfucker. That's what you get for being difficult.

In the background Ryou and Kek muttered, and then Kek crept to my waiting body. He was careful how he shifted his weight so I wouldn't know it was him right away. His fingers reached out and lightly graced up my bicep. My past self groaned in frustration at the light touch. I remembered wanting much more than a touch.

 _Obviously Ryou_ I barked laughter, so confident that anything that soft and sweet would be Ryou.

Ryou's voice was as soft and sweet as one would expect when he whispered _You're wrong. Penalty game._

I growled again in the video as Kek kept his touch light as cotton candy against my arm. After a few seconds his fingers lifted up, and then I squirmed again, impatient after only one round of playing. They both stood up from the bed so I couldn't tell their positions, lousy bastards, I should have known before we started that Ryou wasn't going to make the game easy on me. There was a shift in the video as Ryou handed Kek the phone and crawled to the same area and touched my bicep in the same way. I clenched my teeth. It was clear I had no clue who was touching me- and I remember having no clue who was touching me. At that point I was trying to guess if they'd switch, or if Kek would try the same stunt twice to trick me. That had seemed the more likely answer.

 _Kek!_

 _Penalty game_ , Ryou whispered again.

 _Fuck!_ Of course, that was me being a sore loser (hey, just because I'd never admit it doesn't mean that I don't realize it).

They waited another moment and Ryou touched my other arm. I guessed Kek and had to suffer another thirty seconds of Ryou's fingers dancing along my collarbone. Kek took his turn next, and I guessed Kek that time out of sheer dumb fucking luck.

 _You win this round_. Ryou zoomed in, showing Kek's spray of golden hair as he lowered his mouth down to the base of my cock and sucked like the maniac that he was.

 _Ahhhh! Ahhh! Yes! Yes! Please, Kek! Please!_

"Ha! You knew it was me that time." Kek laughed beside me.

"It could only have been you." I grinned.

Too soon, Kek pulled away in the video, leaving me panting and pleading for more. I should probably feel some kind of embarrassment over the way I was begging for it, but- nah. It had been that good. And I knew Marik's heart was probably beating through his chest right about now. Damn, I was hot.

After a few more rounds of me mostly losing, Ryou started dragging his lips from my pelvis to my navel. I bucked against his mouth, but he backed up, keeping the pressure easy and gentle.

 _Ryou_ , I sighed. It wasn't a guess that time. I was just sighing the first name that came to mind.

 _That's right._ Ryou smiled. _You win. Kek… drop the camera and come over here so we can show Bakura what he's won._

He didn't drop the camera though. He set it down on its side. The frame was tilted, but we could still see Ryou and Kek kissing along my skin as deliberately as before. Ryou ghosted his lips across my palm and Kek covered my thighs. I shuddered at the memory, how their lips felt like butterfly wings brushing against my skin, how much I ached for the kisses to last a little longer despite my cock twitching against my belly. Ryou and Kek both gilded their hands along my stomach, their fingers touched and they looked up at each other, smiling before lacing their fingers together. They froze like that, lost in each other's eyes, and then Ryou bent down and kissed my mouth as Kek finished the blow job that he had started. I came moaning against Ryou's lips, and as I caught my breath Ryou continued to kiss along my collarbone while Kek kissed my thighs.

Ryou grinned, peeling the blindfold up and giving me the same, dopey love-struck look he'd given Kek. _My turn to be blindfolded, Kura_.

 _What if I want to leave it on?_ I teased, still a little winded.

 _Don't be so greedy. You have to share._

 _Steal it and you can have it._

Ryou and I wrestled over the blindfold for a moment, but Kek was already turning off the phone. The video ended and Ryou hid his face in his hands as I laughed. We didn't even notice Marik standing us in the hallway and watching us watch us. My stomach felt fluttery as I looked up and our eyes met.

"I… guess I shouldn't have-"

Marik started to fumble his way through an apology, raking his bangs out of his eyes. I noticed that his temples looked sweat-flecked and his cheeks were a deeper bronze.

"But didn't Bakura look beautiful?" Kek interrupted.

"I mean, of course, but-"

"And now you have some more fuel for your info game, right? You know he likes slow foreplay."

"True." Marik laughed, licking his lips. I rolled my eyes. Sure, give him that one. I couldn't wait until he tried it out when we went to sleep that night, so I didn't mind Marik getting an extra point.

"Do you want to watch some more? There's plenty of room." Kek scooted away from me and patted the spot between us.

Marik laughed, too loudly. I never imagined hearing a noise like that burst from his chest, all giddy, and nervous, and derailed from his normal amount of control. "Watch porn of you with you?"

"I can show you the regular videos on my laptop." Ryou's face was the color of thai chilis. "I have hours of us gaming, or goofing off in the kitchen, or-"

Kek leaned forward a little. "But if you _do_ want to see more of the naughty ones. we have hours of those as well. We don't mind sharing those with you if you're curious."

"Damn Kek, exhibition kink much?" I laughed.

I wasn't sure what had gotten into him all of a sudden or why he was playing the NOTICE ME SENPAI act on Marik. Was it some sort of joke? Or was it just his way of trying to bond with his former host? Some weird _hey we were the same person_ thing that I wasn't understanding?

"I don't see what the big deal is?" Kek kept his eyes trained on Marik. "We could always watch more Pokémon, but wouldn't you rather see more of Bakura instead?"

"Or Kek, since he's a giant Sunflora. That pretty much makes it the same as Pokemon" I snorted.

"Does that make you Ash trying to catch 'em all?" Kek shot daggers at me with his gaze, and I blew him a kiss because I knew it would frazzle him, and it did. He looked away with a flustered expression.

"You know what? You're right." Marik marched towards us on the couch. "I do want to watch more of Ryou's videos."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look, Bakura, I meant the videos that _won't_ require us to fight over who gets to take the first cold shower." He reached the couch and shoved at my shoulder. "Move. I should sit by Ryou since it's his laptop we're watching these on."

"Bakura can hold the laptop," Kek said, but I was already scooting over and Marik was already dropping in between me and Ryou.

"This is good." Marik shot Kek a quick smirk, and I was confused. Some sort of _thing_ was going on between them, but I couldn't hazzard a fucking guess.

"Okay, but I'm going to have to lean over Bakura to see." Kek dropped into my lap.

I _ooomphed_. I was already hard from watching the video, and Kek squirming over me didn't help. "Kek, what the fuck?"

"Sorry, Bakura, but I can see better this way." He challenged Marik to object with a stare, but Marik snorted and ignored him.

I rolled my eyes into the back of my head and sat back, giving up. I really didn't have the energy to deal with a sulking Kek at the moment, especially when paired with a difficult Marik. Still, I had to admit, it was really nice, all of us on the sofa together. Marik pressed up against me, Kek on my lap. We were snuggly seated, but the couch was definitely big enough for all of us. I couldn't help but close my eyes and bask in it, the warmth and proximity of so many people. Couldn't help but think _this is what home feels like_.

"Ryou's not the only one that can film these sorts of moments," Marik said.

I opened my eyes and saw Marik holding up his phone. I didn't understand why at first, and then I realized I was combing my fingers through Kek's hair. I looked down and saw his face half-buried in his crossed arms as my fingers carded through his spikes.

"Sorry," I muttered as I withdrew my hair. "Old habits die about as easily as I do."

"You don't have to stop," Marik said. "You two are as cute as the kittens."

"If you think that's cute, I have the perfect video to show you." Ryou picked up his laptop from the carpet and pulled up a file.

"Don't you mean, purrfect?" I winked.

"Is there anyway we can lock Bakura outside while the rest of us sit and watch these without the puns?" Ryou asked.

Marik laughed hard enough that his eyes crinkled. I was grinning myself. It was nice to see that look on his face. By Ryou's smile, he was thinking the same thing. He stared at Marik like he'd never seen laughter before. Then a spacey look muddled Ryou's expression and he leaned closer to Marik. My stomach did a loop-de-loop when Ryou stole a quick kiss from Marik's lips.

I felt Kek wince in my lap, muttering _shit_ under his breath, but I only half registered it because at the same moment, Marik slapped Ryou across the cheek and then stormed into the kitchen. I knew I should go after him, but Ryou covered his hands over his face and started bawling, and I was worried that he was hurt. Kek leapt up, jumping on the sofa arm so he could hold Ryou and rock him. I cupped Ryou's face in my hands, checking his face for a mark. I didn't see anything. He didn't look hurt at all, but I still found myself kissing Ryou's cheek, as if my dumbass could kiss it and make it better.

"Don't," Ryou sobbed.

"I just-"

"Go to the kitchen you, moron!" Ryou shouted, louder than I'd ever really heard him. "Leave us alone!'

Kek was muttering something into Ryou's hair, but Ryou was staring at me like he'd murder me if I stayed, so I got up and went to the kitchen. Fuck. I don't even understand- _fuck_. What the hell?

What the hell had just happened?

Fuck.

I felt like crying myself.


	48. Ryou 14

**_***posting early because I'll be apartment hunting Tuesday***_**

 ** _Oh, and fyi, if you haven't checked out my ao3 account yet, there are a few one shots (thiefshipping) over there that aren't here (since it's so much easier to post over there)._**

* * *

 _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_

I've never done anything so stupid in my life before. Why did I _even…_

I buried my face in Kek's shirt as he whispered into my hair. My fingers dug into his shoulders. I was trembling against him. I was so mad at myself. How rude! To kiss him without asking. That's something stupid Bakura would do- not me.

 _Hmph_ … _the only difference is that he'd get away with it somehow._

Not that it mattered. I was supposed to be more sensible than that.

"Come on. Come on," Kek whispered.

He kissed the crown of my head and lifted me up into his arms, carrying me to our bedroom. He set me down, shut the door, and dropped a kitten into my lap. I rubbed my face with the sleeve of my shirt. It took me a moment to realize I was holding Diabound VII. I was still sniffling, my tears winding down but lingering on my eyelashes and tickling my cheeks, but I couldn't help but smile at the little ball of fur in my lap. A few head scritches was all it took to have her purring and spiraled into a little cinnamon roll shape in the center of my lap.

"I'm sorry," I exhaled. The kitten had me calmed enough that I felt like I could speak without fresh tears. "I fucked everything up, didn't I?"

"If we were going to fail, I'm glad it was with a kiss and not with Marik and I fistfighting ourselves over a cliff."

"No offense to Marik, but I don't think he'd last more than 12 seconds in a fight against you."

"Oh yeah, I sorta forgot I can box now." Kek sat down next to me, carding his fingers through my hair.

"I'm sorry." I leaned against his shoulder.

"Stop apologizing, Ryou."

"You probably think it was because of the video. That I got hot and bothered and then just went for it because Marik was sitting beside me, but no, it had nothing to do with trying to seduce him. I wasn't… really thinking. He was sitting there laughing, and looked so happy, beautiful, at that moment that it- it was instinct, I guess."

"You don't have to explain." Kek bumped me with his shoulder. "I know better than anyone about subconscious impulses. I used to be little more than emotion and impulse."

"For a moment, I was afraid you'd hit him back."

"Had it been anyone else I would have left them broken on the floor, but Marik's… a special case, and I knew how he'd respond when you kissed him. I should have warned you." Kek sniffed, working the corner of his eye with the heel of his hand. "It's sad though, I really like Marik. At first I thought it was some stupid other-half bullshit, you know how that works."

"Yeah, I know."

"But, Monster World was so much more fun when he played with us. And watching movies. And sitting on the couch together." He held the sides of my head, kissing my forehead. Kek brushed his thumb over the cheek Marik had slapped. "Are you okay? Did it hurt?"

"The only thing he hurt was my heart." I tried to laugh, although I felt like I was full of rocks. My cheeks flared up. "And my pride. I've never been rejected before. Usually I'm the one turning other people down."

"Marik doesn't know what he's missing. You're the best."

I shook my head to disagree.

"Don't argue with me. I know what I'm talking about." He kissed my forehead again. We lay back in the bed, holding each other. Diabound settled into the space between us. Kek sighed after a long, uncomfortable silence. "They're going to leave now, aren't they?"

"Probably," I admitted.

"The kittens are going to be upset when their group is broken up."

"Me too. We didn't even get a chance to get to know Marik well enough, and it's my fault that we won't have the time to."

"It probably wouldn't have worked out anyway. We knew that."

"Yeah. I guess our plan wasn't thought through very well. It seemed light hearted and fun at the time, but, hmmm..." I blew out a slow breath, fingers lost in Diabound's fur. "It's just complicated instead."

I heard scratching from under the bed, and a moment later Marik's kitten climbed up and jumped beside Diabound. Kek reached out and rubbed behind the brown kitten's ear. I imagined the other two kittens running around the apartment somewhere. The fact that they were swapped with their owners somehow made it all the more depressing.

"I still love you," Kek whispered like it was a secret I shouldn't know. "I'll never stop. Those other two are going to be missing out, but I'm looking forward to all the moments I'll have with you all to myself."

I stopped petting Diabound so I could tangle my fingers into Kek's hair. I grinned and pressed my forehead against his chest. "Right back at you, Kek. I love you so much." I sighed. "I'll have to apologize to Marik later, once everything has settled down a bit."

"Ryou?" Kek asked, his eyes glassy from holding back his own tears.

"Yeah, Kek?"

"Can we still watch some of our videos?" He asked again, his cheeks darkening a touch with the question. "I… they're comforting, you know?"

"Okay, but my laptop's in the living room."

"I'll get it." He kissed the tip of my nose and left.

I sat up and leaned against the headboard. Diabound crawled back into my lap, but the other kitten chose a spot next to my feet. Kek appeared a moment later with my laptop.

"They're still talking in the kitchen. At least Marik isn't screaming and ranting, that's good, right?"

"Did he sound upset?" I frowned. I knew he had every right to be mad, but I hope I didn't upset him too much. I hated to think of Marik being upset because of something I did to him.

"I can never really tell when he's talking to Bakura. He always sounds a little short-tempered." Kek sat next to me again and put the computer in his lap. The screen was still up with a video of Kek trying to learn how to braid hair. It was a few weeks after his bout. He practiced until he was almost as good as Bakura with the tiny braids.

"Did you want a different one?" I asked. "I picked that one because Bakura was playing with your hair, but I have some of our gaming sessions taped."

"This one's great. You should let me braid your hair tonight."

"Ha, okay." I gave a single laugh, trying to smile for Kek's sake. "That'll take all night thought."

"Good. We don't have anywhere to be."

He kissed my temple and I turned to kiss his cheek. It turned into a quick back and forth kiss-match until we were both giggling. I leaned my head against his shoulder and he rested his cheek on the top of my head. A thick ache clogged my chest. Bakura was going to leave. Marik was going to leave. And it didn't dull the pain, but having Kek beside me still was the greatest comfort I could ask for.


	49. Marik 10

I didn't have a plan. I was in fight-or-flight mode, although Kek was always the bigger chunk of the fight part of my psyche, which is probably why I ran. I found myself in the kitchen not really seeing it, or knowing fully where I was, or what I should be doing, definitely didn't know how I felt.

Wait… I'm pretty sure I slapped Ryou. I felt the sting of it against my palm.

Guess I had more fight left in me than I gave myself credit for.

Not knowing what else to do, I plopped into the kitchen chair that had somehow already became _mine_ in the few days I'd been at Ryou's apartment, and cradled my forehead in both hands. I was so mad. _I was so mad._ And I was mad for being mad, because I wasn't sure exactly why I was mad. Because Ryou kissed me, yes, but at the same time it wasn't really _that_ , it was… the entire situation.

It wasn't fair. I know they're going to miss Bakura. I felt bad for it- but it wasn't fair.

"Marik, you tracked right through Ryou's broken cup. Are your feet cut?"

"What?" I raised my head, trying to focus on Bakura, but everything was fuzzy around the edges like my head was full of air and I couldn't get the signal to my brain right.

"Your feet." He picked his way to me, got down on one knee and grabbed my foot like a bad Cinderella parody.

He looked at me like he expected some kind of answer, though I wasn't sure what to say. I was too far away from everything at the moment, and I didn't have any desire to come back.

"Probably okay," I muttered.

"Probably?"

"I don't know, Bakura. What do you want?"

He sighed and traced his fingers along the pads of my feet, the arches, the heels. He touched each toe, searching for cuts from the glass on the floor. I sat and waited, not knowing myself if I was cut or not. Dissociation had a bad habit of making me not notice pain. Too far away. His fingers were so gentle… it somehow… made me settle a little. Not into my thoughts. No. Wasn't ready for coherent thinking, but the present became a little more solid because I wanted to register the way his thumb was running circles into my heel.

Bakura set down my left foot and picked up the right. His touch was light, lighter than expected. Bakura's fingers repeated their earlier inspection, and then he sat there a moment, lazily running his thumb back and forth along the arch and rubbing the heel as he had with my first for. A little sigh stuttered from my mouth. In any other circumstance, I'd be enjoying this. I'd tease Bakura about looking good on his knees, and dare him to kiss my feet, and hope he'd use his tongue to tease the skin.

As if reading my mind, Bakura leaned down and kissed the top of my foot near my ankle. A shiver thrilled all the way from my foot to the top of my spine. Our eyes caught for a moment, then he set down my foot and started picking up the glass shards from Ryou's cup.

"It's my fault, you know," he said.

I grunted, leaning my chin into my hand to brace it. I wasn't really listening. Bakura tossed the larger fragments of glass and then grabbed a pile of paper towels to wipe up the smaller bits and the cold coffee.

"I kissed Ryou like that, the first time, but not half as sweetly."

"It's not fair. I know what they're doing, and it's not fair." I put my head right back in my hands.

Bakura sat across from me once the floor was picked up. "I wish I knew what the fuck they were doing. This entire morning has been insane."

"You can't possibly not see it." I lifted my head up enough to scowl, but then I realized how miserable Bakura looked.

Fuck.

This wasn't what I wanted. Half the reason I stayed was because of how sad Bakura looked at the thought of having to say goodbye to them. The other half was more selfish, wanting to understand Kek a little better and talk about our past.

"They don't want you to leave," I whispered, explaining it to him.

"I don't see what that has to do with-"

"They're flirting with me to try to keep _you_ ," I spoke through clenched teeth, angry all over again. "And it's not fair. I'm not a fucking spare tire they can slap on a car to get by! I'm sorry you're leaving them! I'm sorry I took so long! I didn't ask for anything of this! I-"

I stopped when Bakura half flung himself across the table in order to lace his fingers with mine. My mouth dropped open. I was surprised and not quite sure what Bakura was doing. He stared up at me from his spot on the table. It'd be funny if everything wasn't so sad at the moment- including the look on his eyes.

"Marik? What are we doing here?"

"What?"

"What are we still doing here? As far as I can see, everyone's miserable now. Maybe it's time we just go."

"I guess you're right." I sighed. "I just… you were sad when they were saying goodbye, and they were sad, I just… I didn't want- and I still really haven't had a chance to talk to Kek, about the past."

"Yeah, I get that you need to talk to him, and yeah, leaving hurts, but..." Bakura exhaled, his voice a velvet whisper. "But I think a hotel might be better right now. You can talk to Kek in a few days, once things have calmed down."

I gave a hum of agreement. It still seemed… unsatisfying somehow. Like something more should have come from this trip. Like something bigger was supposed to get resolved before we left. But I couldn't handle a talk about…

I was already-

 _confused?_

 _frustrated?_

 _I'm not even sure._

In any case. I needed to get present day emotions in order before trying to sort out my past.

"I'm still packed," Bakura added, interpreting my silence as hesitation.

"You're right." I said out loud for his benefit. "We should get a hotel."


	50. Kek 12

*****posting a day early again because I'll be out of town tomorrow*****

* * *

We spent close to two hours cuddled in bed together and watching old videos. The kittens demanded to be let out halfway through. I opened the door for them, and Jason ran in to take their place, but he was only interested in trying to catch the stray rainbows shimmering against the walls from the crystals Ryou hung in the window. Ryou had a new video to add to his collection before we managed to watch another one of our old ones.

We could hear Marik in the bathroom, but neither of us dared to poke our heads out of the bedroom. The apartment had a tense, awkward energy. The type of feeling that used to make me want to gouge out eyes and listen to people scream, but now I just wished I could stick my head under a pillow and never have to get up again.

After we'd gone through a pile of videos, Ryou and I exchanged a look. My stomach was rumbling, and I knew Ryou was hungry too, and we never even got to finish our coffee. It was time to own up to our awkwardness and venture into the rest of the apartment. I nodded, and Ryou closed his lap top. He tied his hair up in a bun and changed out of his pajamas. I just swapped out to clean boxers and sweatpants because I hadn't showered yet, so I wasn't going to bother with a proper outfit. We paused in the doorway for a moment, staring at each other. not wanting to cross the threshold.

"Are you awake?" Marik called from the other end of the hallway.

We both jumped.

"Yeah," I called back.

"Um, could I ask you guys something?" Marik was staring away from the hall. I was pretty sure it was because Ryou's hall didn't have any lighting in it and he didn't want to look at the darkness.

"Sure." I grabbed Ryou's hand and lead him down the hall so Marik wouldn't be uncomfortable talking to us- well, at least to minimize the discomfort.

He hugged himself, staring at the carpet. "First I just wanted to say, I'm sorry I slapped you, Ryou-"

"No." Ryou shook his head, his face a twist of regret and misery. "Please don't apologize. I'm the one that's sorry. I had no… right…"

Ryou bagan to sniffle, and he hid his face.

"Hey, hey, it's not that big of a deal, so…" Marik half reached out, but didn't quite touch Ryou. "Don't worry about it, okay?"

He looked a little afraid of touching him, like Ryou was a doll too fragile to be handled. It made me a little mad, because I knew Ryou was stronger than that. He just wasn't afraid to show his feelings, whether it was with a kiss or with tears. As much as I wanted to hold Ryou and carry him away again, and smooth the tears off his cheek, I stepped back and watched how they handled it themselves. It seemed important to let them do it on their own.

"I feel so awful." Ryou shook his head. "I can't believe I- and I feel terrible for it. I had no right."

"Ryou." Marik's expression cracked, as sad and regretful as Ryou's. "I think in the grand scheme of crossing boundaries, you're still way behind before you can even come close to what I've done… to everyone I recruited into the Ghouls… to you."

"That doesn't make what I did right." Ryou wiped his cheeks, his eyes gleaming like lacquered teak wood. He bowed low. "I'm sorry I kissed you, Marik."

"Ryou, don't." Marik held Ryou's shoulders then, and straightened him. "No harm done, okay? Gods, it wasn't even bad, it was- I mean- it's confusing, you know? Bakura used to be in your body, when I met him." Marik hugged himself, looking away again. "That makes it confusing… that's why- could you watch the kittens for a week?"

Ryou and I both blinked, glancing at each other and then Marik.

"Sure?" Ryou asked though he was supposed to be answering Marik's question.

"We're going to spend a few nights in a hotel." Marik dragged all his fingers through his hair. "Kek, I can't go back to Egypt until we've talked about… that day. But I-I need some time, in a hotel, and getting one that accepts pets will be a hassle, so-"

"It's no trouble." Ryou shook his head. "We'll be happy to watch them as long as you want. It's going to be a shame to separate them as it is."

"Yeah… yeah." Marik hugged himself again, repeated a third time. "Yeah. I know. I know and I'm sorry."

He was talking about Bakura more than the kittens, but I couldn't process that at the moment. because, because, because I didn't know what to call the brown tabby! We just called him Marik's kitten, or the brown one, or the tabby! Panic shot through my entire body. almost blinding me, but I should my head and ran into the living room.

"Wait, you can't leave yet!" I found the little fishpole that the brown kitten loved and dangled it in hopes of luring him out into the living room.

"We're all packed, and Bakura is outside waiting for the cab, so-"

"Marik, no!" I growled, still frantic with the toy in my hand. "Not yet!"

"Kek? What's wrong?" Marik asked.

The tabby pounced from the shadows, biting into the toy and rolling onto his back so he could kick at the toy. I scooped him into my arms. He mewled, but I couldn't let him go just yet. I shoved the cat towards Marik.

"Name him."

"What?" Marik asked, clearly confused.

"Fuck you, Marik. Fuck you! I've forgiven you for a lot of things, but I _will not forgive you if you walk out that door before naming this kitten!_ He shouldn't have to go without a name- he shouldn't have to name himself."

"Kek." Marik's face fell. He finally understood.

My eyes burned. Did it bother me? That he never named me? I never thought about it, but… guess that would explain why he was about to walk out with Bakura with him and I was having a panic attack about a kitten instead of what I _should_ have been upset by.

"It's fine." I grit my teeth. "I'm fine, but… it's important, that you name _him_."

"I've been thinking about his name, I just hadn't use it yet."

"What is it?" I asked, bringing him closer to my chest and stroking his brown fur for my own comfort. He started purring in my arms. Diabound VII purred the most. She was the sweetest of the four, but the brown tabby purred the loudest, like he was bragging about the fact that he was in a good mood.

Marik reached out and pet him with me. Marik hair fell down as he leaned over the kitten and the tabby batted at the strands. Marik laughed, and he had a wonderful laugh, and a wonderful smile. I understood why Ryou kissed him the moment he did. Marik had been laughing then, too.

"Hear him? Sounds like an engine, doesn't he?"

"Yeah." I sighed.

I was so sad he was leaving. Sure only for a week, but he was only sticking around for an awful conversation that would make us both cry more. He wasn't staying for Monster World, or more movies, or going to the mall with the rest of us, or any of the other things I'd like us all to do together. He was leaving. Bakura was leaving.

"So I wanted to name him Ducati. That's my favorite brand, and he's as loud as one."

"Okay." I nodded. "That's a good name."

"Kek-"

"It's fine." I shook my head. It was fine, though, but there was not fixing all the little things that were wrong, so I lied because _it was as fine as it was going to get_. "I'm fine."

Marik's phone beeped and he checked it. "Cab's here. I need to go."

"Tell Bakura goodbye for us?" I asked.

"You'll see him again. We're just two blocks away. I'm sure he just-"

"We know." Ryou shook his head. "We know why he ran downstairs without saying goodbye, but please make sure he knows… we thought of him."

"I will." Marik nodded.

"Thank you." Ryou turned to leave.

"Ryou." Marik reached out again, touching the back of his shoulder.

"Yes?"

Ryou stopped, turned to face Marik again, and looked up at him questioning. Marik looked out of place. Not his usual, confident, kingpin self, but someone far less confident who wasn't sure why he'd called out.

"I'm not mad, okay? So don't worry, it's… it's fine, and I'm fine, everything is fine, okay?"

"Yes, all right." Ryou nodded and Marik rushed out of the apartment.

I set Ducati down, playing with the fishpole for an extra second before going into the kitchen to wash my hands and get breakfast going. For the love of the gods I needed egg whites and oatmeal.

"You're both bad liars," Ryou said as he poured us two fresh cups of coffee from the second pot Marik had started before the day went insane.

"You're wrong. We're good liars." I handed Ryou a cup and kissed his forehead. "So you caught that he said he was fine too, huh?"

"Wasn't hard. You'd said it right before then, and I could tell you were upset."

I stared at the coffee. Black. Like Ryou's beautiful eyes. If I downed the coffee, could Ryou use the loose ground to read like tea leaves and tell me my own emotions? There were so many all at once. Monday was going to be a long, _long_ day at the gym as I worked all this out.

"I'm better now, but when I thought he'd leave without giving Ducati a name, I panicked."

"I know."

"And-" I set the cup down on the table so I could clench my fists. "And who the hell does Bakura think he is not saying goodbye?"

"I know." Ryou stirred in milk and sugar into his coffee, sitting down and looking at me. "I didn't get to say goodbye the first time either. But the thing about Bakura is…" A small smile slipped over Ryou's face. "He always comes back, so don't worry. We'll see him again."


	51. Bakura 12

I was sitting next to the window and staring at the street below. I'd spent the last three days staring at the damn street. I'd pushed the coffee table in our suite next to the window just so I could be comfortable as I sat and watched.

I felt Marik slip behind me, wrapping his arms around me and leaning close.

"Sorry," I muttered, leaning back into his embrace and closing my eyes.

I knew what I was doing. I spent the last six month moping about Marik, and now that I had him, I was moping about Ryou and Kek. None of them deserved that, but I didn't know how to turn it off. The problem with losing everything when you're little is that you get greedy. You want to hold onto everything. You never wanted to feel the sting of loss again, but that's all I've known. Loss of my village in life, loss of my vengeance while in the Ring, and loss of one love or another since I'd been back. There was no getting around it. No matter what choice I made… I'd be hurt, and whoever I left behind would be too.

"I love you," Marik whispered.

"Same." I twisted in his arm so that the side of my face pressed against his chest, relaxing as he held me.

I allowed myself to dissolve in his arms, not thinking, only soaking in the scent of his cologne and the warmth of his body. I'm sure I would have reached true zen in such a state- finally became a good person, and find the solution to all my problems and the problems of life in general- but someone knocked on the door about five seconds before that could happen.

"Could you get that, Bakura?" Marik withdrew his arms.

As much as I wanted to whimper and bury myself deeper against him, I only grunted and trudged towards the door. Once I swung it open, no one was there. I blinked for a moment and then a splash of color caught my eye near the bottom of my vision. Looking down, I saw a bouquet wider as I was broad.

"You asshole," I whispered. The words were harsh but I couldn't keep the affection out of my voice or the smile off my face as I bent down and balanced the huge bundle in my arms.

"Lilac, of course, mixed in with poppies, red dahlias, and those maroon ones are calla lilies," Marik explained.

"I wanted to buy you some first."

 _But everything has been a tornado and I couldn't decide on what was the perfect mix._

"Well, be quicker next time." Marik winked. "You have to stay on your A game if you want to romance me."

"Sounds like a challenge." I wasn't inhaling the flowers. I absolutely wasn't. Neither was I brushing the smooth surface of a calla lilly against my scarred cheek. I was doing none of those things. Only a lovesick fool would do any of that. "I love challenges."

"Hmmm, I know. It's one of your more endearing qualities."

Our eyes caught from across the room and we both grinned at each other. A poppy brushed against my bottom lip, tickling it, and my eyes fluttered closed. After a few deep breaths I looked at Marik again.

"Want to go for a walk?"

"Being outside sounds good." Marik stood up and strolled over to me.

He covered my hands with his own, a thousand flowers between us, but his eyes were still brighter than all of them. I wanted to lean over and kiss him, but the bouquet was in the way, so I set it down on the table beside us and allowed my arms to slip around him. Our lips brushed and my soul felt like it was blooming, brighter and more lush than an entire garden of flowers. We stumbled to the bed beside us and tangled our fingers into each other's hair.

"I love you," I whispered.

"Same." Marik smiled so broadly that it broke our kiss.

We used the natural break to stand up. I made sure the key card for the hotel room was in my wallet before we left and we started down the street. I kept bumping my hip against Marik's leg. I liked the little grin that would sneak on his face each time I did it.

"It's nice here." Marik looked up at the sky. "It's always too hot in Luxor. I don't mind so much when I'm in a hut working on a project, but I always thought it'd be nice to have somewhere to go in between jobs that wasn't-"

"A desert?" I snorted.

"Exactly."

"Yeah, I don't miss living in a time before air conditioning, and Domino really does have lucky weather. I was going to miss it when we moved to Osaka- before you showed up."

"Move to Osaka?" Marik tilted his head in my direction as he asked the question.

"Yeah." I shrugged. Not sure I felt like telling the entire story.

"Why were you going to move?"

I sighed. Damn. So much for not telling the entire story.

"It hurt. Everything in this town reminded me of Battle City, which reminded me of you. I had to leave. I was going to go to the states, but Ryou and Kek suggested we all move out of Domino together." I stared at the lines in the sidewalk as our feet traveled over them. "At least Kek doesn't have to leave his gym now. He and Ryou can both keep their friends. I didn't like the idea of dragging them away like that."

"Gods." Marik crossed his arms over his chest, thoughtful. "Friends. Hm. I don't even have friends, not really. Friendly acquaintances, perhaps."

"I was hoping that at least…" I shook my head, jamming my hands into my pockets. "It doesn't matter though."

"You were hoping that I'd get along with them." Marik sighed, reading my thoughts.

"I can't change how I feel. I can chose who I'm with, but I can't change how I feel." I was afraid to look at Marik at that moment, but I needed to, so I forced my head to raise up. "I… need to make sure you're okay with that."

Marik was watching me, but then straightened his head. "Look. The pier."

Of course we ended up at the pier. I hadn't intended to, maybe Marik did, but I had a feeling our feet just took us here on their own. To the beginning.

"Let's sit down," Marik suggested.

I nodded my head. It was a proper place to talk. That's why we came here the first time- to talk in private. To plan a murder, threaten each other with murder, take over and destroy the world respectively. What the fuck. It seemed so ridiculous now, like we were stuck in a cartoon or something. Not anymore, now life was just… life. But hell, I'd take a card game right now over the feeling that I was getting pulled apart in three directions.

"I get it," Marik said, his hair shifting in the breeze. His lips twisted upward, not quite a grin, but not a smirk either. He toyed with the wooden post beside him. "It's funny when I think about it. So much hatred… it used to radiate from you like heat, although your hands always felt like ice. Now your hands are warm and you love too many people."

"Not too many." I shook my head.

"That's fair." Marik rested his hand on my knee. "Not too many, and if you're worried about if it bothers me or not- it doesn't, so don't worry."

"Clearly it does bother you, Marik."

"No." Marik shook his head. "It doesn't bother me that you fell in love with them. Is it weird that I'm not jealous at all? I keep expecting to get angry over that, and my emotions are a mess right now, because it's confusing, but it's not jealousy."

I chuckled as I thought about it. "I get jealous over food and treasure, not lovers. It's like… even when they used to sneak off to the shower I never felt left out because I knew I was welcomed. I never had to ask with them, just join. Ryou didn't get it, at first. That he could just join in, and it was making him sad. I could tell- you know, former-headspace-buddy-privilege and all. That's why I kissed him. It was permission. It's easier with an action than fumbling over words."

I looked out at the sea, but I saw them more than the water. That first time it'd been all three of us in Ryou's bed together. "But once I saw Ryou and Kek kiss, I thought maybe it'd be better if I just backed away. They didn't let me. They both grabbed my wrist at the same time, and that's when I knew it wouldn't be them and me, but us."

"That's sweet." Marik was smiling, genuinely.

It was a relief because I wasn't sure what I would have done had he gotten upset over the story. I wanted to have the sort of relationship with Marik were we could tell each other everything, but everything meant this too.

"Playing Monster World was fun. I wouldn't mind trying to finish out the quest before we left."

"I don't want you to just to cheer me up." I bit the inside of the cheek. Hating the next words that left my mouth. "Talk to Kek this weekend and then let's get out of here."

"It's been a few days. I'm over it now."

I started at the wooden slats below us. "When I saw you in the kitchen, you didn't even realize you'd walked through a puddle full of broken glass, Marik. I don't ever want to see you that out of it again. Nothing's worth doing that to you."

"You're going to _have_ to see it again, Bakura, and I need you to be okay with that like you need me to be okay with how you feel about the others, because I don't want to hide it from you when it happens."

Marik said it in such a general way that it concerned me, and I wasn't sure how to react.

"What do you mean?"

"Kek isn't part of me anymore, but I still have a dissociative disorder. It's not always bad things, it's any time I'm overwhelmed." He kept shaking his head, as if to deny to issue. "I try to hide it when I can. I don't think Ishizu even realizes- Rishid notices."

I flung my arms around Marik, holding him as close as I could while sitting beside him. I felt stupid. Of course he still had problems. It's not like banishing Kek fixed his childhood, and Kek didn't mentally check out like Marik had in the kitchen, but I knew he still struggled with his emotions, why should Marik be different?

"Then what do I do? When it happens?"

"Speak slowly. Hearing's hard when I'm half out of it, and if we're in a crowd, try to get me somewhere quiet. Like I said, being overstimulated sets me off sometimes."

"Okay." I sat so that I was behind Marik, spreading out my legs on either side of him. He positioned himself so that his legs dangled over the edge of the pier, making it easier for me to sit behind him and rest my chin on his shoulder. I held his stomach with both my hands, watching the waves break up the sun's reflection. "Is this okay? Does it bother your back?"

"Your chest feels good against my back, but maybe move your chin? The sun disk area is one of the bad spots."

"Okay." I felt stupid repeating myself, but I wanted he to know that I heard him while I figured out how to move. I ended up resting my forehead against the back of Marik's hair. "Better?"

"Better." Marik found my hands and squeezed them. "Hey Bakura?"

"Hmm?"

"This isn't what I expected, none of this is, but I'm glad this is how it ended up. I like you this way. I like how you pay attention to details and actually give a fuck about how I'm feeling."

"Heh, this _is_ nicer than last time we came to the pier. I should have held you then. We could have skipped the dramatic tournament and sat here the entire time."

I _should have_ , but I never would have. Vengeance was the only thing I was good for back then, and Marik wasn't really any better. Didn't stop me from drinking in the moment. I nuzzled his hair with the tip of my nose and grinned as an idea came to me.

"Hey, Marik?"

"Hmm?"

"When I look in your eyes I think of fields of coriander blooms that existed thousands of years ago. I don't really remember what the fuck it is to be human, but you're one of the few things in this world that remind me of when I did know. Would you like to go out on a date with me tonight?"

"Holy shit, Bakura." Marik resituated so he could kneel between my legs face me. His skin glowed, both from the sunlight and from emotion.

I shrugged, smiling myself. Marik's smile was contagious. "That's what I should have said the first time we met but I couldn't because the timing was all wrong."

"And now?" Marik's grin widened a little.

"Now I think the timing is perfect."

"I agree." Marik brushed our noses together. "I'll pick you up at your hotel room at five."

He pecked my cheek, stood up, and walked away.

"Where are you going?" I stood up so I could follow.

"There's some things I want. Don't worry, I told you I'll pick you up at five!" With a wave Marik left me to walk home in my own, but I hardly noticed how long it took. My stomach was in knots and my palms began sweating. I laughed at myself. Guess I was more excited about going on a date than I thought I'd be.


	52. Ryou 15

*****I probably lost all my formatting on this section because I was on mobile when I posted it. It's on ao3 as well and should have all the proper italics, et cetra over on that page*****

* * *

I threw my hair up in a bun that morning, and it felt like half of it was down around my face by the time I got off work. I offered Kek a faint smile when I saw him waiting for me at the end of my shift.

"How was your day?" I asked.

"Not bad. Come on." He grabbed my hand and lead me in the opposite direction of home.

"Where are we going?" All I wanted to do was curl up on the sofa much as I had for the last few days.

"We're going to visit Yugi."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." I stopped, pulling my hand away from his. "I don't feel like faking happy today."

"Then don't." Kek turned to look at me.

"I shouldn't." I sighed. "But I always do. I don't like when people worry about me."

"I texted him. We talked a little."

I lifted up my eyebrows in question. I couldn't imagine Kek having a text conversation with Yugi.

He scratched the back of his head. "I… well, I wanted to talk about some things, so he knows, about Bakura and Marik, and he said we should come visit him." Kek dropped his hand away from his hair and grabbed mine again. "And honestly? I think it's a good idea. I hate seeing you so depressed, and I'm sure Yugi will be able to cheer you up."

"What about you? You're sad too."

"I know. That's why I texted Yugi, so I could talk to someone."

"You could have talked to me." I frowned.

"Ryou." Kek used his free hand to cup my cheek. "I know, and we have been talking, but I needed outside advice and…" his face glowed with what would have been a blush on a paler complexion. "All my gym friends are, uh…"

"Straight?" I suggested.

"And monogamous." He nodded. "I don't like to talk about that stuff at work, so I kinda borrowed your friend instead."

I laughed. It was cute how he said it, and amazing to see how much he'd grown over the last six months. I sighed. "Okay. Let's go visit Yugi then."

"Maybe you could slap the Pharaoh again." Kek snickered.

"I keep forgetting I did that." I hid my face in my hands.

"Had I known what was going to happen, I would have recorded the moment. It could have been the crowning jewel in our video collection."

"The first one will always be my favorite." I stared at the sidewalk as we strolled down the concrete, but a smile was on my face as I remembered they way Kek and Bakura had cuddled together on the carpet.

Kek bumped me with his hip, and my smile widened. I gave his hand an extra squeeze as we continued to walk. A few minutes later, we were standing in front of the Game Shop and we circled around to the back to the area where Yugi lived. He opened the door for us right away and let us inside. Kek greeted Yugi with a quick wave and then walked into the living room, shouting.

"Hey, you bastard! Get your deck and duel me!"

On instinct, I stepped towards the living room, ready to pull Kek back if he started a fight with Atem, but Yugi spoke up behind me.

"They'll be okay."

I blinked for a moment, realizing Yugi was right. It was a great and strange relief, so much different from that first day when Yugi and Atem didn't even want Kek and Bakura walking out the door with me for fear of my eminent murder by their hands.

"Look." Yugi attacked me from the side with a hug, squeezing tightly. "I heard, and I'm really sorry."

And oh my goodness, I didn't realize how hurt I was until that moment. The second Yugi's arms wrapped around me the tears spilled over my cheeks and a little sob escaped my mouth. I knew I was sad, of course I was sad, but I guess I'd been trying to put on a brave face for Kek's sake at the same time. I ended up burying my face against Yugi's shoulder and allowing some of the grief to drain out of my system. He stroked my hair and waited until the tears ran their course before pulling back.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." I rubbed at my face with my sleeve.

"But do you need to talk about it?" Yugi went for the kettle.

I plopped in the chair beside me. "I don't see what good it will do."

"Make you feel better." Yugi gathered four cups.

He put the right amount of sugar in mine, and I was kind of mad that he remembered now. He never would have paid attention to that kind of detail when we were dating. I wonder when he did start paying attention to all the things he used to ignore?

"Well, if you don't to talk to me, I think you should at least talk to him," Yugi said after I didn't answer.

"Who?"

"Marik."

"Gods no. I already feel stupid, the last thing I need to do is make it worse by being annoying."

"I understand how hard it is when you've had an Item, and unlike the others, we're the only two that had proper spirits inhabiting ours."

"I remember we used to talk about it all the time."

"Yeah, and the moment we stopped talking about things wasn't too long before you broke up with me."

That's because I didn't want to explain how lonely I felt, how I needed more attention. I felt selfish and thought I could just get by on the time we did have, but that only made me feel worse. I exhaled. I didn't want to think about that anymore than I wanted to think about Marik. Yugi disappeared to pass out cups of tea, but then returned and continued where he left off.

"It's so easy when you share a mind link with someone. You just have to think something- not even full thoughts all the time- sometimes you can just feel it, and the spirit can react, and there's nothing quite like it, but Ryou. We don't have Items anymore."

"I know."

I clinked my spoon along the inside of my cup. Five spots, like I was connecting dots to make a pentagram. Clink-clink-clink-clink-clink, a protection spell to ward off the uncomfortable conversation Yugi was trying to make me have. It didn't work; he kept talking.

"I tried to get better at talking to people, to remember that people couldn't simply feel what I was feeling, that I had to tell them." He shook his head, sitting across from me. "But when Atem came back, it's like I forgot everything I learned. I guess because it was him, my other me. It should be like old times, right? But it wasn't. He wasn't a Pharaoh in the Puzzle. He's Atem now, and neither of us talking to the other just made it worse."

"I know. I remember. He made you cry and then he had the nerve to act like he was better than Bakura, so I slapped him."

"Atem tells the story like the three of you were heros, swooping in a rescuing him from his own self pity."

"I wouldn't call it a rescue. We just gave him a lecture, but I'm glad you two are doing better now." I shook my head.

"He needed a lecture. It helped." Yugi shrugged.

"Are you saying I need one now?" I looked up with him, not particularly happy at the moment, although I knew Yugi meant well.

"More like advice. After the three of you left, Atem and I had a long talk, and we've kept on talking since then. There were a lot of things we thought the other knew, but didn't. How could we have known? We didn't have a way to share our thoughts anymore."

"Bakura was always good at reading mine, even after." I looked away. "Until Marik came back. It's like he went stupid."

"He's probably overwhelmed. You should have explained to him that you were interested in Marik."

I shook my head, disagreeing. "We didn't want him to be sad if Marik didn't share the same interest- and he's doesn't, so it's better that we never got his hopes up."

"Do you know for sure Marik isn't interested?"

"He slapped me after I kissed him. I'd say that's a strong indicator."

"Marik doesn't have the Rod anymore, Ryou. He can't read your mind. How was he supposed to know what you meant by kissing him? Kek said he'd just got done seeing a racey video. Maybe he thought the kiss was you trying to make another video. Why wouldn't he slap you under those circumstances?"

"I'd never do anything like that!" I shouted.

I mean, how dare Yugi even say that. He knew me better than that!

"I know that." Yugi gave me a sympathetic look. "But does Marik?"

"He should know me better than that." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Why would he? You haven't seen each other in years."

"I-" I paused, because what Yugi was saying was starting to sink in.

What would have Marik thought about the kiss? I knew, when Bakura kissed me, that he was giving me permission- permission I had wanted but didn't know how to ask for. But hadn't Kek gotten upset at Bakura for doing it without asking me first? Bakura had to explain to Kek that I had wanted to be kissed.

And Marik had just watched that video, and he was clearly flustered afterward. Of course he was going to interpret the action as a purely physical come on. And knowing how much we cared for Bakura- it probably looked like I was trying to get him into bed just so we could keep Bakura around for a little longer-

Oh no.

I hadn't even realized.

I just thought he had slapped me for being rude.

But I didn't think about how it might have seemed like I was using him as a chess piece on top of that.

It's true we were first drawn to the idea because adding Marik sounded much more fun than losing Bakura, but it wasn't because we thought of Marik as an accessory. It's because we liked the idea of everyone together.

But Yugi was right. How was Marik supposed to know that? Bakura might not even know. He'd been acting so oddly, the way he'd stopped Kek from tickling me by defusing the situation instead of instigating it. It was so unlike Bakura, but Bakura wasn't there after the Ceremonial Duel when Marik had apologized to me, after I'd officially forgiven him, as far as Bakura knew, I could have been bitter at Marik for Battle City. And Kek always acted like he hated Marik. Bakura probably never even considered the possibility of us having more complex feelings towards Marik…

"Ryou? Are you okay?"

"I don't think explaining things to Marik will fix anything. The damage has been done." I spoke to my tea instead of Yugi, half lost in thought. "But I suppose he really does deserve to hear the entire story." I looked up at Yugi. "Thank you, for talking to me. It's helped me sort out my own thoughts."

"What are friends for?" Yugi smiled. "Besides, I owe you. Atem makes great hamburgers now!"

I laughed a little at that. "I'm really glad. Speaking of which, we should probably check on them. I'm sure no one's dead- there would have been screaming- but this much silence is a little suspicious."

They were in the living room, sitting on Yugi's sofa. Kek had his cell phone out and was thumbing at the screen.

"What happened to the card game?" Yugi asked.

"You know what happened to the damn card game. I got sent the to fucking Shadow Realm again." Kek grit his teeth, the trace of a vein swelling on his forehead. "Swapped to something that makes me feel less homicidal."

"They have four kittens." Atem took the phone and turned it around so Yugi could see the picture Kek was showing. It was all four of them sleeping in the basket I kept scraps of fabric in for crafts. Their fur was ruining all the scraps, but we didn't have the heart to take their bed away.

"Look at them." Yugi took the phone and started swiping through all of Kek's photos.

I calmly took the phone away after a moment before any questionable pictures could pop up.

"Oh, sorry." Yugi laughed, understanding right away. "Did you guys want to stay for dinner? We could play games afterward."

I glanced at Kek, trying to read how he felt. He took his phone back. A wicked grin flashed across his face. "There's got to be some sort of game you assholes can't win. Let's try Uno."


	53. Marik 11

I raced down the street on a brand new bike. I didn't need another motorcycle. I owned three. But I wanted one for my date with Bakura, and for the rest of my trip in Japan. Besides, I figured I could give it to Kek when I was done, if he wanted it. Before I would have assumed he liked motorcycles just because I did, but he was so different now that I didn't want to assume.

I swung into the hotel parking lot and turned off the bike. I hurried up to our room, eager to get Bakura so I could surprise him.

"Bakura? Where are you?" I looked around. The bed was still made, and he wasn't at the window.

"In here!" Bakura called from the bathroom.

I gasped when I saw him. I'd only seen Bakura in hoodies and boxers, at the most blue jeans and tees, but he'd actually put some effort into himself for our date and I hadn't been prepared for it.

"Holy shit," I muttered.

"What?" Bakura looked up from the mirror, staring at my reflection.

"N-nothing." I blinked a few times to snap myself out of it. "I've just never seen you in anything other than a t-shirt."

"Like it?" Bakura ran his fingers down the black silk button-up. A red tie hung from his neck, and he wore kohl around his eyes.

"You may have won this round, but there's no way I'm going to let you out-dress me next time." I held his face and sucked on his bottom lip.

His eyes fluttered shut as he dissolved into my kiss. Both of us opened our mouths at the same time, our tongues touched for a moment before our lips pressed back together. I pulled away before I could get any more distracted. The bed was close and we _were_ in a hotel, after all. Smiling and biting my bottom lip, I tugged at Bakura's hand to get him out of the bathroom.

"Let's go."

"Did you have a restaurant you wanted to go to, or-"

"Bakura." I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth. "You should know by now that I plan big, and you're worth more than the cliché dinner-and-movie routine."

Bakura snorted a single laugh as we stood close in the elevator despite it being empty. I could tell he was flushed despite his complexion hiding the color. I reached up my hand, stroking his unmarked cheek with my thumb. He smiled and I couldn't help but lean in and kiss the corner of his mouth.

"You going to give me a hint?"

"This date should really lift your spirits." I winked.

"Are you saying that you're the wind beneath my wings?" Bakura kissed the air in my direction.

"Yes, because love will lift us up where we belong." I laughed.

"Okay, but seriously, what are we doing?"

"Just do what you do best whenever I come up with a plan."

"Complain?"

"Follow me no matter how crazy my idea is." I cupped his cheek and stole one last kiss before the elevator doors opened and we walked out of the elevator and into the hotel lobby.

Bakura whistled when he saw the bike. "You bought it in white?"

"It was on the lot. I have my custom ones at home." I grabbed the extra helmet I bought, seeing if it would fit since I had to guess on the size.

It fit well, and after I gave him a quick tutorial on how to ride as a passenger, we were zooming down the streets of Domino as fast as I thought I could get away with without getting pulled over. Which is pretty fast, apparently. I didn't see a single cop the entire time we cruised around the city. Once my lust for driving had been sated, I went towards our actual destination- the airport.

"What are we doing here?" Bakura asked as soon as the helmet was off.

"This is where our date starts." I grinned.

"I'm not packed to go anywhere."

"Don't worry, I'll have you home by curfew." I laughed and led him to my private jet.

Bakura regarded the cabin of the plane with the same suspicion as a cat in a new place. He tiptoed around, and looked at every corner as if thugs might jump out and challenge us to a duel- which it being Domino wasn't a wholly impossible scenario, but my plane should have been pest-free.

"This… isn't a commercial plane?"

"No, this is my little toy." I felt my face grow hot. This seemed like a good idea when I came up with it, but I hoped Bakura liked it as much as I wanted him to. "I thought you might enjoy flying around for a few hours."

"Toy?" Bakura relaxed, but raised an eyebrow at my wording.

"Well…" I primped my hair. "I re-invest most of my money into improving people's lives, but when I _want_ something, I let myself have it."

"Ha!" Bakura plopped down on the sofa style seating near the window. "Then let's go!"

It was funny to see him so cautious only a few moments ago, but now he was acting like it was _his_ plane and he lived in it. I shook my head and sat beside him and texted the pilot with instructions to take off. I noticed Bakura wasn't using his seatbelt, so I reached over and fastened it for him rather than argue. He narrowed his eyes, but I slipped one hand under his shirt and traced along his abs and that seemed good enough of a distraction to keep him from arguing.

Or perhaps he was being agreeable because he was excited, although he tried not to show it. The moment the plane started forward, he twisted around so he could look out the window. When the plane actually lifted off of the ground, Bakura's eyes widened. His expression was too full of delight and excitement to hide, and I smiled as I watched his face beaming.

Then he turned towards me, face growing bashful as he caught me watching him. His gaze angled downward, staring at our laps.

"Um… thanks. This was a cool idea." A single laugh escaped him. "And bonus points for remembering what Ryou said, I guess."

"Yeah, I remembered." I unfastened my seatbelt and Bakura did the same. "Want dinner? I had some brought on board before we arrived."

"I always want dinner. especially if it's not chicken and green beans." Bakura laughed.

It took me a moment to catch the reference to Kek's new eating habits. It was still odd for me to think of him eating chicken. I mussed up Bakura's hair and laughed when he tried to smooth it back in place. There were two covered trays waiting in the back area where the staff would sit, when there was a need for staff to accompany me on a flight, but tonight I wanted privacy, so I brought the food to out myself. Sitting back down, I used a small remote to turn on the speakers. Music played all around us as the last rays of dusk lit the clouds outside our window a rusty orange.

"You remembered my favorite song," Bakura muttered, staring at the pork loin and potatoes on his plate. "And my favorite food."

"Of course I remembered. It was never about only getting points." I played with my fork. "I wanted to remember everything for moments like these."

Bakura looked up at me. I smiled.

"Because I love you," I said.

Bakura buried his face in his hands. I set my fork down and scooted beside him, running my fingers through his hair.

"I'm alright." He shook his head.

"I know you are, but for some reason I can't stop touching you."

"Heh, smooth."

"You know I am." I poked his chest. "After we eat, will you dance with me?"

Bakura slid his hand against the curve of my hip and it felt like lightning licking against my nerves.

"Any excuse to touch you back." Bakura nuzzled against my neck.

I closed my eyes, moaning at the tickle of his skin against my own. I wouldn't have told him to stop if he had kept going, but he pulled away and tore into his food with his usual savagery. I shook my head, grinning, and then grabbed my own dish. Kushari, my favorite, but it didn't taste as good as the batch Kek and Ryou had made last week.

I felt funny at that thought. It was like I actually missed those two morons. Maybe I did. Eating meals together, and playing Monster World, watching movies, and teasing the kittens with string, that was all fun. I was just so mad that they were playing a living game of shogi using us as pieces the entire time. It made me distrust every moment I'd been at their apartment.

 _Because it's not like_ I _would_ ever _do anything like that._

Haha, ironic thoughts are being ironic.

"I think butter is one of the greatest inventions of the Western world." Bakura rescued me from my thoughts.

"Mine has olive oil instead." I looked down at the food that wasn't half as good as it should have been. How the hell do they mess up something as basic as Kushari?

"Try the potatoes."

I grinned, opening my mouth to suggest that Bakura should feed me. A shy look tinted his expression, but he did it and I moaned as he pulled his fork away I was pretty sure he was blushing again. I wished I could see it on his cheeks.

I ate half of my food, and then split Bakura's side dishes with him. Dessert was chocolate truffles with extra strong mint. Bakura caught onto the mint and winked as he ate the leaves used to garnish the plate of truffles. Now I was the one that would be blushing if my complexion was more fair.

He started laughing, choking for a moment and having to chug his bottle of sparkling water that I'd brought with our food.

"Bakura? Are you okay?" I asked, patting his back.

"I just now remembered the puns!" He finished the water, able to breath once again.

"Don't choke to death over something stupid like that!"

"I can't believe it took me this long to connect those with an airplane date!"

I had the music on shuffle in a playlist that had songs we both liked. At that moment, my favorite song started to play. We both looked up like idiots, as if we could see the music, and then we looked at each other. Bakura grinned, a huge, wild thing that I still wasn't used to seeing on his face. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet before pressing our bodies together.

We were chest to chest, groin to groin, and nose to nose, and if we could have squeezed any closer together- I would have. But as it was, we were as flushed as two bodies with clothes could get, so I held onto Bakura's hips while swaying my own, looking down into his eyes as we moved.

We were clumsy.

We were too close, but wouldn't back up to give our feet room.

It was like graceless sex, grinding, pushing, moving, our breath getting heavy as sweat trickled down our skin. I spun Bakura and he went with the movement, circling out and then crashing against me as I pulled him back to me. We both laughed, breathless, but refusing to stop. The songs continued to shuffle, one of his, one of mine, and then three songs in a row that we both liked that were popular during the Battle City tournament. By the time we tumbled onto the seats, I was dizzy and panting and smiling so broadly it hurt.

"Stars are coming out." Bakura clambered over me and back to the window.

"Yeah." I pressed against him so I could look out the same port. Really, I just wanted an excuse to be close.

"I love staring at the world when it's small." Bakura shook his head. "Some things don't change."

"Some things don't need to." I bumped our hips together.

"Why do you prefer bikes?"

"Because I can control where I go. I can control the speed, direction, if I stop. A bike moves with you, it becomes you."

"That makes sense. I like being swept up in things, though. Hurtling through existence too fast and just staring down at it all suits me."

"You like being swept up, do you?" I pulled him close against me. "Like being swept up into my arms?"

"Yes," his eyelashes fluttered shut and his lips parted.

I leaned down, ghosting my lips tenderly against his, soft as breath or goose down. He leaned back into the seat and I crawled into his lap, tangling my fingers in all that shaggy white hair of his. Gods I loved it so much, especially twined around my fingers.

We undressed as slow as possible, holding out to the last second before removing our shirts and pants.

"Wait, we don't have-"

"Actually-" I interrupted him to pull a bottle out from a side compartment in the seat next to us. "We do."

"I should have figured you'd plan this far ahead."

"I thought it might be nice to join the mile high club together."

"This is much more comfortable than the bathroom in a commercial flight."

"I never do anything half assed."

Speaking of asses, I had my fingers coated in lube and was working them one by one into my asshole. Bakura watched with a hazy, lust-kissed gaze, and I hitched a little and moaned just for show.

I noticed the stars shift outside our window. The pilot was turning around so we could get back to Domiono without having to refuel, but I had more than enough time, so I didn't rush and made sure I was relaxed and stretched before I eased down Bakura's shaft as he sat leaning into the overstuffed cushions of his seat.

"Marik," he moaned out my name and the sound of it sent a jolt through me.

I was gasping as soon as I started to circle my hips. It was close to the way my guts felt when I took a hill on my bike- a rush upward, and then a swooping thrill on the way down. I curled closer to Bakura, resting my forehead against his shoulder. He grabbed my hips and held them, but allowed me to set the pace of how slowly we circled together.

"Marik." He bit his bottom lip.

"Yes, Bakura." I kissed up the side of his neck, his flesh hot against my lips. "Yes… yes… yes…"

I wanted to stay in his lap for hours, slow circle after slow circle, but the more I moved, the greedier I found myself. I leaned back, bracing my hands on his thighs and bobbing up and down a little faster than before.

"Yes… yes… gods, yes. Bakura!"

My hips were bucking now, faster, faster, faster. The swirling, looping sensation inside me growing hot and intense. Bakura reached out, fondling my balls for a moment and making me scream before he slid his hand to my shaft.

"Fuck yes!" My nails dug into his thighs and my rhythm faltered as I focused on bucking into his hand while squeezing my ass around his cock.

"Fuck, you look so hot right now," Bakura growled, his hand doing magic up and down my shaft.

I leaned forward again, fast and shallow on his cock. My nails sank into his shoulders instead of his thighs, but he didn't mind. He pressed his lips against my ear and moaned my name over and over again until the sound of it and the pressure of his hand around my dick had me spurting all over him.

I crashed against him for a moment, gasping before grabbing tissues and wet wipes to clean him up. Done, I pressed a button to make his seat recline further back, and I started rocking my hips again.

" _Ah! Ahh! Ahh!_ " Bakura huffed out ragged breaths as I continued to ride him.

He grabbed my hips, all but begging me to go faster with the way he tugged at me, raising me up, and slamming me down. I kept moaning, spent but still shivering inside with each thrust.

"Marik! Marik! Marik! I'm coming!" Bakura shrieked and then his words evaporated into a groan, and then his hands grew less needy against my hips as we wound our movements down.

After another clean up, we slipped our boxers on and I rested on his chest as we sat and relaxed. He stroked my hair, his fingers soothing against my scalp. I sighed, half dozing against him as I listened to his heart beat.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I know." I drew little hearts against his chest.

"I want to look out the window again."

"Okay." I stood up so he could twist around.

I dressed, and he did as well before we were on our knees in the seat, staring out at the lights of approaching Domino below us. We talked, about useless nothing things. I told him about the cats in the tombs, several specific stories that stood out in my memory. He told me about several times when he was little that he tried to steal food but, for some reason or another, couldn't manage it and how he'd go to bed hungry on those nights.

We were silent on the ride home, but the moment we were back to the hotel room and snuggled in bed together, the conversation picked up where it left off. We talked about games, and compared the Egyptian language he knew as a child to the tomb keeper dialect I grew up with. There were a lot of borrowed words that were the same, but a clear Arabic influence even with phrases I thought were older. Then we somehow ended up on our phones shopping for cockrings, then some sort of Danish cookie that Ryou ate when he was younger and Bakura had a craving for, and then cat towers for our kittens. I sent them to Ryou's address and Bakura shook his head.

"Shouldn't you send it to where you live in Egypt?"

"Well… I can always buy another one." I shrugged.

"Are you buying that for Ducati and Diabound, or is that one really for Jason and Hamyaa?"

"I mean… it's not right to spoil our two and not the other two."

"Cute." Bakura smiled. "Come to think of it. You got a white bike."

"So what?" I asked, although I was clearly busted.

"That happens to be Kek's favorite color."

"I figured he might want it after we leave? Shipping it to Egypt would be such a bother." I frowned. "Does he ride motorcycles? He's so different from me now."

"I think he'll like it." Bakura kissed the tip of my nose and I giggled.

"Will Ryou ride it with him? Or will it scare him?"

"Nothing scares Ryou." Bakura shook his head.

As if they knew we were talking about them. Bakura's phone beeped. He ignored it, but I jabbed at his shoulder with my pointer finger.

"Check it."

"I mean, it's just-"

"Bakura, it's fine."

Bakura exhaled and rolled over to grab his phone. The screen lit up the smile on his face as he looked at his message. It was the same _in love_ sort of expression I caught him giving to me, and my heart fluttered a little as I watched him.

"Look at these fools." Bakura turned the phone around so I could see the picture.

Kek was toasting with a glass of champagne. He had a paper crown with KING OF UNO scrawled on it with red, yellow, blue, and red marker. Ryou had gotten ahold of a pair of wide-rimmed sunglasses and had all the wild and wild draw four cards fanned out to show them off as he held them with his arms cross over his chest. And someone else was standing behind them on the sofa making the rest of the Uno cards rain down on their heads- although I noticed a few Duel Monster cards sprinkled into the shower like Pot of Greed, and Exodia's Right Arm. Below the picture was a caption.

 _BAKURA! WE FOUND THEIR WEAKNESS! IT'S UNO!_

And then below that:

 _We still can't win either of them in Duel Monsters, but Kek seems to be a magnet for Wild cards- no surprise, tbh!_

 _So the next time you want vengeance, Skip the Duel Monsters and Reverse your strategy to Uno instead._

I laughed, covering my mouth with my hand to mute the sound.

"Wait, is that Atem standing over them on the sofa?" I narrowed my eyes, finally realizing who else would have hair as crazy as Yugi's but skin as dark as mine.

"Yeah, he's back in his original body as well."

Another message appeared.

 _Atem says if you somehow managed to kill him during a game of Shadow Uno, then he probably deserves it._

Bakura swyped a reply.

 _Of course he'd deserve it. Who's dumb enough to play a Shadow Game of Uno in the first place?_

"Who's dumb enough to play Shadow Dungeons and Dragons?" I snorted.

"First off, immersion. Second, it wasn't Dungeons and Dragons, per se." Bakura shot me a perturbed glance. "It was my own version of a tabletop RPG."

The phone beeped again.

 _Anyway, we'll let you go. But we *had* to share our victory with you!_

Bakura snorted, typing, _Later clowns._

"You can talk to them," I said.

"They look busy." He sighed, setting down his phone.

"I didn't know they hung out with Yugi and Atem."

"Ryou always has. Kek just started."

"Why? How? It's… a little hard to conceive."

Bakura shrugged. "They're Ryou's friends. He didn't want Ryou to feel split between the people he cared about. And like I said, Resurrection Club."

"Oh." I pressed my forehead against Bakura shoulder. "They look like they're having fun."

"Yeah, fucking dorks. I bet Ryou made the crown."

My chest tightened. All the emotions I'd been trying to figure out started to condense in my center.

"I'm not mad at them." I said it to myself, but Bakura answered.

"It's okay to be mad, Marik."

"No, you don't understand. I'm not mad at them." I clutched onto him. My eyes stung. I blinked a few times and hot tears tickled my cheeks. "It would have been fun, to get to know them as well as you do. To hang out more. I guess that's why… it hurts. It hurts that they were using me to keep you."

"Marik." Bakura wiped away my tears with his calloused palms. I leaned into his touch, more tears replacing the ones he'd wiped away. "Ryou's not like that at all. I can't really say what exactly happened, but I know Ryou cares about people more than that. He's not us. No- that sounded wrong-"

"I know what you mean." I wiped at my own face, demanding that I stop shedding stupid, useless tears, although they refused to stop. "The irony hasn't gone over my head. How I used to treat people like dolls, and now I'm crying that someone did it to me."

All the feelings started to fit like my own Millenium Puzzle, only made out of emotions instead of gold. Even from that first night, when they had Bakura's suitcases and were trying to say goodbye, I had been the one that had suggested we stay. I didn't want to break them up, but it was also that part of me liked the idea of…

Of what?

Of them flirting with me too?

Maybe more?

Isn't that what they did?

But then I slapped Ryou for it.

Because at the end of the day, I didn't think it was _me_ they wanted. They just wanted Bakura to stay.

So it hurt. It hurt. My cheeks were already dry, but that didn't stop the sting in my chest.

"Ryou's not the type to play with hearts," Bakura repeated. "And I don't think Kek is either. Not anymore, not any more than _we_ would now with someone else."

"Maybe," I muttered, but I didn't believe him. They never said anything.

They never asked how I felt about group relationships or how I even felt about their past with Bakura. Even if they were too nervous to talk to me, I'm sure they would have spoken about it to Bakura. The fact that he didn't know what they were doing _proves_ that it had been a scheme instead of honest flirting. If they had been sincere, they would have brought up those topics at least to him before trying to kiss me.


	54. Atem

Of course I won our game, and I laughed the moment I realized I'd beaten Marik's other half, but my mirth turned to concern as he marched towards me. I had no doubt that the entity that loved the darkness so much he chose Kek for a name had changed from the mere shadow he once was, but by how much? True, toward Ryou I saw nothing but kindness, and Bakura was clearly fond of him as well, but the way he marched at me, I expected to see a knife. I really did.

He reached into his pocket. I winced, _that_ sure it was a knife he was pulling out, but it was his cell phone. Kek plopped beside me on the couch, pulled up his photos, and started scrolling through them.

"This is Ducati. He likes string and fish poles. And here's Diabound VII. You can probably guess who she belongs to. She's the sweet one out of the group. Too good for Bakura, I know, but we all got to pick ours first, so it was the luck of the draw for him. Jason hunts toy mice. He gutted the first one, and we had to buy more. Ryou was very proud-"

"Um…" I was still waiting for a knife and very confused.

"Look, playing cards with you was pissing me off, okay? We have to do something else for a bit so I can cool down. Like Fire Starter, you know? Have you seen that movie?"

"No." I shook my head.

Fire Starter? Was he going to set me on fire? Was this how the gods ended up restoring balance to my heart? By making me suffer the same fate as those from Kul Elna? As the ones I made burn after Shadow Games?

"Fire Starter is okay. I liked It better, but I _get_ the girl in Fire Starter. She loses control easily, and has to cool down after using her power so she doesn't burn everyone. I'm like that. Oh, and this little asshole is mine. He's so stupid. Gloriously stupid. Look at this bastard."

Kek shoved the phone in my face to make sure I could see the orange kitten. I tensed at the sudden movement, forcing a smile and nodding at the screen as Kek continued talking.

"He fell asleep in his litter box last week. I just cleaned it, but still, who does that?"

"You have a kitten?" I asked, wondering why in the gods' names they'd let him be responsible for something as fragile as a kitten. Maybe something a little more hardy- a pet rhinoceros might survive Kek easier.

"We all do. Bakura brought them home."

"Do you miss him? I mean Bakura?"

Kek's expression fell. "I miss both of them, Bakura and Marik. It hasn't been that long, but… it feels like a long time."

Without thinking, I reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

" _Keh_ , thanks."

" Um…" I was in shock. I wasn't going to get stabbed, and he wasn't going to break my wrist for touching him. Bakura had been right about him. "Um, do you have any more cat pictures?"

"Here's Jason drinking out of the toilet, and this one is Asshole Hamyaa stealing a shrimp from my plate." Kek started laughing. "This is his favorite way to sit."

I looked at the picture and started laughing as well. It was a picture of Kek with the kitten sleeping in his hair.

"As long as he doesn't confuse your hair and the litter box."

"I would _kill him_." Kek flushed, shaking his head. "Figuratively."

"Don't worry. I understood you."

A moment later Ryou and Yugi walked into the living room and we started playing Uno. Dinner became delivery so no one had to stop playing to cook, and I kept finding myself drawing four cards at a time. It was infuriating! It was maddening! It was-

Probably how Seto felt all the time.

I was still angry at how stupid the cards were. For the next game I had them switch the direction so Ryou went after Kek instead. I didn't think Kek had it in him to Wild Draw Four Ryou. And that seemed to work. It was a mild third game, until Ryou dropped down a polite smile and a Reverse card. Kek had been waiting for it, too, because as soon as the order switched I was bombarded with Skips and Draw Twos.

 _How did he get all those cards?_

They couldn't be cheating. Yugi was dealer and I shuffled the last game. I was just… unlucky? At this game?

It didn't make any sense!

How was I losing so much!?

Then I realized everyone was laughing. I looked up and saw Yugi doubled over with his cards pressed to his forehead as he laughed. Of course that made _me_ smile. They didn't even care who was winning or losing. They were just having fun, so although I only won a few times, I tried to join them. After another win, Kek slammed his hands on the coffee table, voice excited and teasing.

"Does this make me King of Uno?"

"Yes!" Yugi slapped his hands on top of Kek's.

"Great! Where's my crown?"

"Let's make you one!" Yugi jumped up and grabbed paper and markers. He passed the paper to Ryou. "Here Ryou."

Ryou nodded, grinning. I don't think I've ever seen Ryou really _grin_ before. He often had a smile on his face, but it always seemed there out of polite habit- in the same way Bakura's smirk stuck around out of facetious habit. But he looked genuinely happy as he folded up the paper in a crown shape and allowed Yugi to write _King of Uno_ in marker colors matching the four card colors.

"You have to let me take a picture," Ryou said as he impaled the crown down on Kek's spikes.

"I knew you were going to say that."

"Let's get both of you. We should make it really funny." Yugi rummaged through some things and pulled out a huge pair of sunglasses. "Wear these, Ryou."

"Okay." Ryou grabbed the glasses and held the cards up in front of him while leaning against Kek. "Is this good?"

"That's pretty good… hmmmm… seems like it's missing something. What do you think, Atem?"

I tapped my chin, thinking about it for a moment. "He needs a glass of wine."

"I have champagne. That'll be even better!" Yugi ran to the kitchen and came back with a glass half full. "There. Anything else?"

"I have an idea." I grabbed the rest of the Uno deck, and Yugi's deck, which was closer, and I started showering both Kek and Ryou with cards.

"Perfect!" Yugi snapped a few photos and texted them to Ryou and Kek.

"Come here, Yugi, let's get a group selfie."

"Okay."

We all crowded on the sofa. I stole the booze so I could hold it up for the first picture, and chug it during the second. Yugi grabbed the bottle and it got passed around during while we snapped photos, and all of us were in a giggle fit by the time Yugi and Ryou put their phones down. Afterward, we sat back and listened to Yugi talk about the craziest customers he'd ever had in the game shop. Ryou chimed in with some of his own bizarre customer stories. Their talk about work made me sit up as something hit me.

"Tell Bakura to change my name at Kaiba Corp!"


	55. Kek 13

*****Quick note if you didn't read the manga: Johji is Tristan's nephew. It was a terror in the original, so I figured pre-teen Johji wouldn't be any better. But hey, no one got electrocuted to death this time, so progress!*****

* * *

A week later my phone beeped while Ryou and I walked to work together. I held my breath. It could have been Bakura sending over a pun. It could have been someone from work sharing a gym meme. But somehow I knew it was Marik asking for the conversation that we needed to have.

 _But that neither of us wanted to have._

"It's okay." Ryou squeezed my bicep, at least what he could grab with his slender hands.

I nodded and pulled out my phone. One message, from Marik. I held my breath as I read it.

 _Let me know when you want to meet and talk._

Never. I never wanted to to talk. Not about killing _that asshole_. I wasn't going to apologize, if that's what Marik was expecting.

"The sooner the better, right?" I asked Ryou, knowing he could see the message.

"If that helps."

"Yeah. I want to get this over with." I started texting back.

 _Tonight?_

 _Yeah, I'll be there when you get off work._

 _Okay._

I crammed the phone back in my pocket, sighing.

"Is there anything I can do?" Ryou asked.

"No." I shook my head.

I stopped and grabbed him in a bear hug. He squeaked, always so squeamish about PDA, but I wasn't Japanese and I didn't give a fuck. We weren't making out at the park or anything, so people could frown at us. They already hated everything about me- foreigner, gay, non-monogamous, wings poking out of my tank top that looked like tattoos (although they _weren't_ )- so I might as well give them something to scowl about. Ryou relaxed after a moment and squeezed back.

"I know this is hard, but I think you'll feel better afterward."

"Yeah… probably."

Just because I knew it was true, didn't mean I wanted to accept it.

We broke apart and finished our walk. I buried myself in my workouts, and in between I scrubbed down the equipment so I could move instead of think. Kyubi came around and plopped down on the bench right as I was trying to clean it.

"Hey," he lay back as if he were about to do a set- though he didn't have any weights- and looked at me. "What's up?"

"Just cleaning," I muttered.

"You can talk about it."

"Not really." I snorted and moved over the the incline bench. It didn't do any good. Kyubi jumped over to block my path again. I plopped down on the flat bench, setting down the spray bottle and cloth.

"You going to make it the whole day?"

I nodded.

"You want to hold some mitts for me?"

"Sure." I laughed.

I could remember when mitts were hard. When I almost killed Kyubi for _daring_ to make me uncomfortable by telling me to hold them for him while he punched at me. And it never goes away, feeling uncomfortable, but the things coming at me now are much bigger than fists. Marik, the past, my own emotions, what are a pair of boxing gloves to that?

So we went several rounds, and then sat at the edge of the ring with water bottles.

"Feeling better?" Kyubi asked.

I nodded, and I was. He'd helped put things back in perspective. I changed into dry clothes and took a lunch break before all the kids piled in for afternoon class. Today we practiced keeping up our guard. I demonstrated, had them show me their version, bopped a few heads of people who weren't paying attention, and then paired them off to do practice drills. Keeping an eye on twelve kids wasn't easy. I walked through the groups, making sure they were practicing, making sure no one's form was awful, and above all else making sure no one was trying to turn into a super saiyan and get into a brawl with their partner- that happened a lot. I noticed Yui all by herself with her fists up in front of her face.

"Good form, but where's Johji?"

She pointed over to the weight equipment- _which none of the kids were supposed to go near_ , and I saw Johji balancing on the top of the squat rack and trying to climb the fucking wall. Sweet baby Horus, that kid was going to be the death of me one day.

"Johji! What are you doing? Get down!" I jogged over to the squat rack, grabbed him around the waist, and set him on his feet.

"Hey! Don't touch me."

"Burpees. 50 of them. I'm watching."

"But I-"

"Right now."

"This class is so stupid!" The kid screamed, but started doing burpees as I stood over him with my arms crossed over my chest.

Every fucking week. Every. Fucking. Week. It was something with this kid. Last week he grabbed Haruka's ass and told her she had nice tits and I had to arrange a sparring match between them hoping that getting his ass kicked by Haruka would teach him some damn manners. It at least taught him to leave the girls alone, but now apparently we're doing this.

After 50 burpees I had him go back to practice his drills with Yui while I checked on the other kids. I was trying to get Souta to understand that he still had to keep his eyes on the opponent or he was going to get hit, but he kept trying to _hide_ behind his fists instead of using them as a guard. I looked up for a second as he continued to practice- and noticed Johji's ass clambering up the squat rack again.

"Johji! What did I just tell you!"

And then we went again. Me pulling him down. Him doing 10 push ups, 10 squats, 10 starfish, and another 50 burpees, and then me having to stand there and watch him and Yui practice for a moment.

"I can't spend the entire class staring at you, Johji. You have to let me help the other kids out, okay? Just stay off the equipment. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Okay senpai!" Johji gave me the sweetest, most innocent smile.

I would have trusted Bakura's smile before this brat's. How the fuck does Kyubi deal with people without murdering them? He's so good at it. I'm internally screaming and about to make everyone run laps until-

I heard a shriek and cringed. Johji was wailing. I didn't even look, pivoting and running straight to the squat rack, knowing that's where he was again. He was on the ground with a knot on his forehead and holding his arm. Didn't have to be a doctor to know that it was broken.

"What's wrong?" Kyubi stopped his own training and shouted from the ring.

I didn't even have a chance to answer as 11 kids started screaming the story all at once. Kyubi called an ambulance and I followed Johji to the hospital as we tried to contact his parents. We called once at the gym, and I called again on the trip, and twice in the waiting room, but I only got answering machines at their house and their cell phones. I was ready to break _their_ arms by the time I hung up again. What was wrong with people? No wonder Johji was such a brat!

I realized I needed to text Ryou. He'd be worried sick that I didn't meet him to walk him home. After a second of thinking it over, I decided to call him instead.

"Kek?" Ryou answered after the first ring.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. There was an accident-"

"Are you hurt?"

"Not me. One of the kids at the gym. He broke his arm. I'm at the hospital. I think he's okay, I mean besides the broken arm, but he's not going to die or anything."

"I'm sorry," Ryou said.

"Um, hey, could you text Marik for me? I'm still trying to get ahold of the kid's parents. We can still meet, but let him know why I'm late."

"Of course. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

"No. It's fine. I'll text you when I can make it home."

"Okay, I love you."

"Love you, too." I smiled. That was nice to hear. I'd never heard it on the phone before.

Just then Johji walked down the hall showing off his _sick new cast_. I sighed, and grabbed his free hand so we could check out.

"Hey, I can't get ahold of your parents?"

"Of course not. They're working."

I made a hum, trying to hide my aggravation as best I could. "So they work a lot?"

"Who cares?" Johji snorted, looking away.

Ah, it made sense.

"Well, I guess I'll call a cab, and-"

"I don't need you. I'm walking home myself."

"Oh no no no. I'm escorting you home. I don't want you getting into any worse trouble." I refused to let go of his hand.

"I don't have to listen to you! We're not in class anymore."

He'd pushed me as far as I could go. I was already stressed about Marik; I did need this. Bending over so we were closer, I let him have it.

"You're damn right we're not in class anymore, which means nothing's stopping me from kicking your fucking ass if you don't listen!"

His eyes grew round and his mouth dropped. "Senpai, you just said fuck."

"I sure the fuck did. Now come on, I'm going to make sure you get home safely."

I ended up having to sign all of his paperwork myself. As a peace offering, and perhaps as a bribe in hopes he wouldn't tell his mom that I swore and threatened to kick his ass, I winked at a few nurses and got them to bend over and sign the cast. He was pretty happy about that.

"How'd you do that?" He asked as we started to walk towards the exit.

"Do what?"

"Get those nurses to be so nice to you. Girls usually slap me."

"That's because you're an asshole, Johji. Try treating girls with respect and see if they like you better."

"Sounds fake, but whatever you say."

"And leave Haruka alone or I'll let her wail on you again."

"You're so strict, senpai."

I chose to ignore him as we walked towards the door. It opened a moment before we got to it and Honda of all people burst in like he was escaping a fire. He rested his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. I wondered if he'd gotten into some kind of trouble, but then he looked up and shouted.

"Johji! I got here as soon as I heard the message. Are you okay? What happened? What-" He stopped, seeing me, and his face twisted into a nasty frown. He ran to Johji and yanked his hand out of mine. " _You_! Get away from my nephew! Did you do this to him?"

Okay, but thank the gods he said nephew, because if he had said son I would have, a) smacked my head against the wall, and b) broken his fucking arm.

"Honda, what the hell is wrong with you? This is Keku-senpai. He teaches me boxing." Johji jerked away from Honda and, to my great fucking surprise, took my hand again.

"What. Happened?" Honda grit his teeth, hands in fists.

"Your nephew is an asshole." I gave Honda a cool stare. "I told him twice to stop climbing on the equipment. He didn't listen."

"It's true," Johji grumbled, digging the toe of his shoe into the linoleum.

Thanks for not throwing me under the bus, kid, because had you started crying and pretending like it was my fault you got hurt, it would have caused a fist fight ending with your uncle being dead and your senpai being in jail for murder. Not that Johji understood that we knew each other. Or that I kinda, sorta killed his uncle's best friend a few years ago and tried to drown the world in darkness and pain.

Which, I should add, was significantly more fun than this awkward moment, or the conversation I was going to have with Marik when this was all over.

"Johji, why?"

"I don't know." Johji kicked at the floor, and I recognized the body language- anger.

"What have I told you about listening to your teachers?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, lay off me already!" Johji screamed.

"Hey," I snapped. "He came down here because he was worried about you."

"I'm sorry." Johji muttered between clenched teeth- also anger.

"Look." I crouched down so I could look at the kid eye-to-eye. "You're going to be in class next time, right? Don't think I'm going to take it easy on you just because you're in a cast."

His face changed from barely held-together rage to surprise. "You're not… kicking me out?"

"Is that what usually happens to you? You piss off the teacher until they kick you out of class?" He didn't answer, but I could see on his face that I was right. I took the pen from his cast-hand, the one he filched from the information desk, and wrote my name on the dried plaster. "Well, Kyubi-sensei has taught much worse than you, so I doubt he'll throw you out."

"But I can't box like this."

"But you can do walking lunges."

"But I hate those."

"Well, next time I tell you not to climb on the squat rack- don't do it." I stood up, handing him back his pen and glanced at Honda. "Do you need me to call you a cab?"

"No, we're fine…" Honda looked like he'd been hit by a car. He was actually pale.

Must not have talked to Yugi recently or he wouldn't be quite _that_ surprised. His entire family must have had to work a lot.

"Okay, then I'll see you around." I waved and headed out the door, but Honda called out to me.

"Why?"

I turned, raising an eyebrow.

"I know he's hard to deal with. Why didn't you kick him out?"

"Why should I? Kyubi didn't kick me out, so I'm not going to kick out Johji. More than any of the other kids, he _needs_ to stick with boxing. It'll teach him discipline." I snorted. "And hopefully keep him from being as bad as I was when he hits his teens. So don't let his parents pull him from class, Honda."

With that, I walked away before he could say anything else. I was ready to find Marik and get our talk over with.


	56. Ryou 16

I hung up the phone, and was about to text Marik when I heard a knock. I cringed, knowing who it would be. I swallowed and opened the door.

"Hey, is Kek home yet?" Marik asked.

My brain was screaming. Marik looked marvelous, or maybe it was just because I hadn't seen him in awhile. He wore black jeans and a black vest that went really well with the kohl around his eyes. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, showing off his gorgeous face. I realized I was doing that thing again- the thing where I'm not talking out loud. It was one or the other I guess. I either didn't have a filter, or I didn't say anything at all, and I most certainly didn't want to blurt out what I was thinking at the moment. I took a deep breath and forced myself to speak polightly.

"Hello, Marik, please come inside. Sorry, but Kek just called. One of the kids got hurt at the gym today so he's running late."

"Is the child okay?" Marik asked as he stepped inside.

"He broke his arm. Kek couldn't get ahold of his parents, so he took him to the hospital himself."

"That's awful." Marik frowned. "Should I reschedule? I know neither one of us are really looking forward to this."

I shook my head. "Kek seemed anxious to get it over with. Please, sit down. Would you like some tea?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay…" I looked anywhere but at Marik. He was too pretty and I didn't want to stare. "Um… well, he'll be here as soon as he can, and- maybe I should just go? I was going to run to the market to give you both time to talk anyway, but I could just go now and-"

"Ryou." Marik sighed, it was more like a groan. "Just… come on, don't leave me alone in your apartment. I know it's awkward between us, but let's just try to forget about it and watch TV or something?"

"Of course. I-I don't mind. I just thought you might want me gone."

"I'd rather us get along, if we could. I don't want Bakura to feel bad every time he talks to you."

"No, that would be awful." I dropped onto the couch, running my fingers around the triangle volume buttons on the remote. "Um, Marik?"

"Yeah?" He sat down on the opposite side of the sofa, and I felt like shit. He always sat a little further away before, but now he was sitting as far as possible and it was because of what I'd done. I couldn't help thinking about my conversation with Yugi the other day. I picked at the back of the remote, popping open the battery hatch and closing it again. "Um, Marik?"

"Yeah, Ryou?" He gave me an expectant look.

"I just want you to know, well, that is, I think I should try and explain that, well, you know… I'm stupid, and awkward, and the only game I have is on the rpg table and never with guys, and I'm sorry."

"Oooookaaay." Marik raised an eyebrow. "I keep telling you I'm not mad anymore."

"No, I mean, thank goodness, I'm really glad you're not mad at me. I want us to be friends, because you're great. Also, although it's for different reasons, you're extremely close to the two most important people in my life, so It'd be nice if we could be close. Platonically!"

I shouted like a fool while rambling. "I meant, platonically, of course. I promise I'll never overstep boundaries like that again. I still feel _awful_ because of that. Dammit, this isn't what I'm trying to say at all! See what I mean? I'm just really bad at talking when it comes to this kind of stuff. Give me a minute, I need to start over."

I scratched my head, fiddling with the remote wasn't working. My face was burning, _burning_. I wiped my palms against the front of my pants and tried to take a deep breath, but I only managed a half-hearted gasp. Yugi was wrong. This couldn't be better that keeping my distance. Marik probably thought I was an idiot at this point, and I was begging to _any and every god_ that Kek would show up and save me from this impossible mess, but the door didn't open. It was just me, having an anxiety attack on the sofa because I was trying to _talk_ to someone, and Marik, looking at me like he was worried I might pass out.

"Okay. The thing is, even without Bakura, or even without Kek, I- I would have, um-" my voice cracked.

I closed my eyes and swallowed. Oh, just spit it out already, Ryou. You've already made this as awkward as it can get, might as well lay the cards down on the table.

"I just want you to know that it wasn't because of Bakura. I mean, some of the flirting yes, but it's not like we were flirting because we thought we could just glue you on, do you understand? We already understood Bakura was going to leave, so we got too bold, because we didn't think we could lose, since we already lost Bakura."

I stood and paced around the living room. Too nervous to sit. Mind spinning too fast not to move my body as I continued to ramble.

"We would have never even considered it if the attraction hadn't _been there already_. It wasn't acceptance of your presence, it was us coveting it. And that's _why_ \- why even if the other two weren't here, and you'd been on the couch that day on your own, and we were watching something harmless, like cat videos, or Pokemon, had you still be sitting there, and laughing, and smiling…"

I stopped. I felt like I was floating a little outside my own body I turned and looked at Marik who sat straight with an unreadable look on his face. I made sure I looked right in his eyes, though, so he could see that I was being sincere. "I still would have kissed you. I just wanted you to know that." I closed my eyes. "I mean, it's okay that you don't like me. I'm fine with that, but after that day, I thought about what it must have looked like, with all the odd circumstances surrounding that moment, and I really hated the thought of you thinking I was just flustered from the video, or trying to hook up casually, or playing some sort of dating version of chess. It wasn't any of that. It was just me being stupid, and I'm sorry."

A little sound escaped Marik, then a little more. My eyes flung open and I searched his face, wanting to make sure I didn't somehow fuck up _even more_ and make him cry, but no. He was laughing behind his palm. I didn't know how to take that. It was better than crying, but had I really been _that_ ridiculous? Was my embarrassing confession was just a joke to him? I bowed low and turned to run into my room.

"I'm sorry. I was talking too much! I'm just going to go and-"

"Ryou, come back!" Marik called after me.

I stopped, and gave him a shy peek over my shoulder. He waved me to come closer.

"I'm not laughing _at_ you. It's just that… if you add up everything you've ever said to me, I don't think it'd be half as much as that soliloquy's worth."

"Yeah." I rubbed the back of my head, pretty sure I was blushing all the way down to my skull. "I've had the Ring since I was little, so- although I'm perfectly capable at talking in public- when it comes to people I want to be _really_ close to, I don't know how to express myself very well." I took a few steps closer until I was back in the living room. "Honestly? I think it's one of the reasons I get along with Kek so well."

"And Bakura," Marik added.

"It's easy with Bakura. He always seemed to be able to read my mind. Even after he came back." I sighed. "Except lately. I guess he's had too much on _his_ mind to try and read mine."

"Probably." Marik cleaned under his fingernails. I couldn't tell if it were a act of boredom or nervousness, but I really hoped it was the later. "Is that why you didn't tell him? That you had a crush on me?"

"No. We didn't tell him because we didn't want him to get swept up in the idea and then get hurt if- or when- you turned us down." I made my way back to the sofa, sitting in the middle. Marik didn't seem uncomfortable with my location, so I scooted a touch closer, and stayed there. "We knew leaving was going to be hard for him; we didn't want to make it harder."

"That makes sense," Marik hummed, looking off like he was thinking about something.

"Although, it did surprise me that he never caught on to what we were up to. I was sure that day, um-" My cheeks were already as hot as they could get, but I still felt the need to blush all over again. "The day you walked in on Kek and I? After that, when Kek was tickling me and Bakura came into the room I thought everything would just-" I gestured with my hands, searching for words. "Fall into place. Like it did with him, and Kek, and me. Like, hurrah, Bakura's here! Now everything is somehow going to work out because he's crafty like that! But he de-escalated the tension in the room instead, and I was… lost." I hugged myself, bending over. "I was so lost, without Bakura pulling the strings. I guess that was also part of the reason I kissed you. I didn't know how to _say_ I liked you, so I showed it. Afterall, it made perfect sense to me when Bakura had kissed me, I knew it was an invitation."

"You were giving me permission," Marik spoke quietly. Not a whisper, but close to one. He seemed to be looking at nothing in specific, but I didn't feel like he was avoiding my gaze, merely thinking to himself.

"Yeah." I pressed my burning forehead into my hands. "That's no excuse. Gods, I'm sorry. And I'm rambling again, Marik please just tell me to shut up."

"Why would I tell you that?" Marik smirked. "It's entertaining to watch you monologue. Much better than watching TV."

"TV, what a great idea." I flopped over to where I had sat originally and stretched out for the remote so I could drown out my chatter with the blessed white-noise of pre-filmed programming.

"Don't you dare." Marik reached over me- half on top of me- and stole the remote from my hand.

"Hey!" I called out, more surprised than anything. The three seconds that we pressed together felt like I'd been struck by lightning. My heart was racing again, but from proximity instead of embarrassment.

"No, no, no. Keep talking. This is entertaining." Marik waived the remote out of reached.

"Marik, you're awfully close," I murmured. Not that _I_ minded the closeness, but I didn't think _he_ wanted us to be that close.

"What? Oh, sorry." Marik sat back into his original spot, and I noticed he was running his fingers over the plastic much as I had a moment before.

I tried to think of something that would distract him from his thoughts.

"So? Watching me flounder around like a suffocating fish and make a fool of myself is entertaining?"

"A little." Marik laughed again, still toying with the remote. "I do that to Bakura often enough." He took a deep breath and glanced at me. "You know, I did think you were playing chess."

Oh my gosh, I'm such a game nerd that I sat there blinking for an entire fifteen seconds trying to think about how we got on the topic of board games again before I realized he was alluding to my mention of dating chess. I shook my head.

"I wouldn't do that. Not like that. I'm sorry that's what it seemed like to you"

"That's what Bakura said, that you wouldn't play games like that. I wanted to believe him, but the fact that he didn't know what you were up to was too suspicious."

"In hindsight, we definitely could have dealt with the entire situation better." I gave Marik a helpless shrug. "We could have at least brought up the topic of dating multiple people in general to see how you reacted before we tried flirting, and talking to Bakura about it was probably a good idea, but damn, I can't imagine how hurt he'd be when it didn't work. We just wanted to spare him that extra bit of pain… he's had enough."

"That's true." The room grew quiet for a moment and then Marik shook his head. "In hindsight I'd live my entire life differently. That's one of the reasons why I want to talk to Kek. I want to tell him how sorry I am for…" Marik dropped the remote and balled his hands into fists. "For everything."

"You know, Hamyaa loves to sit in his hair, but when Hamyaa is sleeping, Kek holds Ducati in his lap. I think because that one is your kitten. Kek… really loves you, Marik. I think it's like that feeling that Yugi and I had for Atem and Bakura. Even, me, even though I didn't get along with Bakura very well when I had the Ring. When someone's that close to your mind…" I shook my head. "Maybe love isn't the right word. I wouldn't say that I loved Bakura until recently, but, it's something. It's a closeness."

"I bought the cats some scratching posts and toys. They should be here any day now."

"Okay. We'll keep everything in the box until you're ready to go back and-"

"I sent them here because I want all the kittens to use them."

"Thank you. Do you miss Ducati? I bet I can find him sleeping in my scrap basket."

Marik's face lit up. "Yeah, I would like to see him."

I rushed to my room. All four of the kittens were in the basket. I scooped up the tabby, carried him to the living room, and placed him in Marik's arms.

"You're right. He purrs like an engine."

Marik smiled as he ran his hand down the length of Ducati's back. I had my phone out snapping a picture before I could even imagine Kek and Bakura teasing me about it. Marik looked up and grinned, so I took another one in order to catch his smile.

"Want me to send it to you?"

"Yeah, that way I can forward it to Ishizu. She wanted to see him."

"I'll send you the second one for Ishizu because you're smiling in it. I bet she'll love it. When their toys get here. I can text you videos, Kek already has some. He was showing Atem pictures the other day."

"Shut the fuck up. Kek? Was showing _Atem_ pictures of our cats?"

"Yes, before our Uno game. That was a fun night."

"Life is somehow crazier now than when I was a kingpin."

"Well, you are dating a three thousand year old tomb raider." I sighed. "How is Bakura, anyway?"

"Spoiled rotten, of course."

"So are the kittens, so I guess that's fair." I laughed. The tension in the room was thinner than before. Talking about nothing important felt a whole lot better than embarrassing confessions.

"He misses you guys. You can visit, if you want."

"Why doesn't _he_ visit?" I frowned. "Kek's still hurt that he didn't say goodbye."

"Yeah… I'll bring it up. Maybe we can finish the Monster World game we started?"

"We should! It's going to be the last game we play, so I'd love to finish it."

"Why the last one? Surely Yugi will play with you guys."

"Oh, maybe Yugi and Atem would, but…" I looked away. "None of the others will. Not after their experiences with me and RPGs when I had the Ring. Any other game, but not tabletop RPGs."

"What about an online version?"

"There aren't any good ones available." I blew the bangs out of my face, it didn't work, so I brushed them aside instead. "I've been thinking about trying a few things, see if I could toss something together. I mean, Bakura _did_ get his computer skills from me after all." I laughed a little. "But I was always working so much that I never really had a chance to sit down and think it through."

"Well, if you do make something, I promise I'll play whenever I have an internet connection."

I smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah. I've only played a few times, but it was a great game."

"Good." I felt my phone vibrate. It was Kek telling me he'd be home in five minutes. "Oh good, Kek is on his way back."

"Don't you dare run off until he gets here."

I blushed again. That was exactly what I was planning on doing. Toying with my hair, I looked around the living room for something else to talk about. Kittens and Monster World were my best two topics.

"Heh," Marik snorted. "I guess I should thank you, if Bakura got his computer skills from you. That's how he sent me the message that brought me here."

I glanced at Marik. "What did it say? If it's not too personal to ask."

"I dwell in darkness without you. Free me."

" _I dwell in darkness without you?_ Oh my god." I doubled over, laughing. "That's sweet, but I swear Bakura is such a dork! No wonder he didn't want to watch Willow the other night."

"The fantasy movie?"

"Yes."

"Did he steal a line?" Marik snorted. "It's Bakura. Of course he stole a line."

"He thinks you're Sorsha. That's so cute! I'm dying! I should hit him with a bag of glitter and say it's the Dust of Broken Hearts! Ah, oh no! He'd better not think Kek and I are the brownies."

" _Nothing_ you're saying is making any sense, but now I _really_ want to see this movie. Especially if it's Bakura's favorite."

"You can borrow it." I stood up to hand it to him.

"Are you kidding? Bakura won't let me watch it. You know how he is."

"Yeah. I guess he already detoured us once."

"Maybe I can sneak over here and watch it when he's busy."

"Any time. Just let us know." The door opened and Kek walked in. "Kek!"

I ran and crushed him in a hug. I knew he'd need it between the day he'd already had and his anxieties about talking to Marik.

"Ryou," Kek whispered into my hair, holding me back.

"How's the kid who got hurt?"

"Fine. Tristan finally came and got him."

"Tristan?"

"Yeah, turns out it was his nephew. Small world."

"Yes, and I'm sure when he saw you, Tristan properly thanked you for taking the extra time to make sure his nephew was okay." Marik didn't even try to hid the bitterness or irony in his voice.

"Whatever. It's fine. He knows his nephew is a problem." Kek scratched his hair. "I just want a hot bath and my body weight in chicken."

"Speaking of, I need to go to the store. I'll be back in an hour." I kissed Kek's cheeks and gathered up my wallet and keys.

"Do you want to reschedule?" Marik asked again.

"No. Let me change into dry clothes and then let's get this over with."


	57. Marik 12

*****The YouTube video I used for reference on scarification is called "Scarification | National Geographic" I'll put a link on my tumblr along with the link to this chapter if anyone wants to see it. (I thought it was interesting, but disclaimer for blood if you look it up because they show part of the cutting in the video).*****

* * *

I watched Kek disappear. A moment later I heard the shower running, but only for two minutes. Long enough to rinse off and nothing more. He appeared again in clean sweat pants and went straight into the kitchen. I opened my mouth to shout out and ask what he was doing, but decided to give him another minute. He appeared again with a shaker, assumably filled with protein powder and water.

"Sorry, my schedule is off."

"You can actually _eat first_." I tried to put stress on the words to show him that I was concerned. "Or take a bath. Kek, we can reschedule-"

"My stomach has been in knots all day long." Kek groaned, tilting his head back and chugging as much of the drink as he could "Rescheduling is the worst thing we could do."

The other three cats rushed into the living room, circling his feet and meowing.

"You dumbasses, it's creatine. It doesn't even sound like tuna, why are you begging?"

The orange kitten jumped onto Kek's pant leg and started climbing.

"Asshole! I swear to Bast, why are you like this?"

With his kitten still clinging to his pant leg, he finished the drink and then went back into the kitchen. I heard the can opener and so did Ducati- he leapt from my lap and rushed into the kitchen after everyone else.

"Traitor!" I shouted at the cat.

I still had the remote control in my hands, and having nothing better to do to sooth my nerves, I started tracing my fingers around it. Kek came back one last time, this time he sat on the sofa with a person's space between us.

"They love the stuff in a can. Ryou said it's bad to feed them too much of it, so they only get it every other day."

"Oh? Are you the reason they're spoiled?"

"If you don't like how I raise them, then come and take care of them yourself." Kek stuck out his tongue, his tone had been playful and not bitter, so I laughed.

Then our mirth dropped like a stone into a dark well. I could almost feel the cold and dark surround us. Had the Rod been between us I would have sworn it was Shadow Magic, but it was worse than that. It was memory. I was remembering the day I created him, before, when I was in my chamber waiting for them to take me away to the table where they performed the initiation.

"I'm sorry!" I fell toward him, grabbing him and clinging to him as if he were that frightened, about-to-be-broken version of me pulled straight from my memories.

The tears came quicker and harder than I could have ever imagined. From both of us. I knew we'd end like this. I didn't think we'd start like this.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

I kept saying it, like saying it could _change something_. If only it could, but the past was a scar carved into our souls. I still repeated the words, even more, even more, so useless, but it was all I could say.

"It's not your fault!" Kek dug his finger into my hair, pressing our foreheads together.

"I wasn't strong enough-"

"That's not your fault!"

"I shouldn't have gone outside that day!"

"Children belong outside!"

"Not me!"

"Yes you!"

"It was forbidden and I did it anyway! It's all my fault! Everything! I couldn't- I should have- It's been my responsibility from the beginning!"

"No!" Kek pressed me into his chest, arms locked around my head as if to protect me from my own thoughts. His voice was wrecked from the sobs, but he calmed down enough to speak. "No. Malik. No. None of it was you. None of it was your fault. _None of it. None! Not even the first time!_ She didn't die because of you!"

I hadn't been prepared for this. We were suppose to be talking about father- not mother!

"Don't-" My voice cracked like a stone tablet being broken in half.

"Marik! You need to hear it! Hear it said out loud!"

"No!" I pulled away, covering my ears.

He laced his fingers with mine, tucking our hands between our chests so I couldn't block him out and leaning close to speak into my ear.

"Marik, she needed a hospital. You didn't kill her. I didn't kill her… we didn't kill her. She should have been in a hospital with doctors."

I started crying again, but they were soft, relieved tears. I mean… I knew. I already knew what he was saying, but no one ever said it out loud before. No one ever made it real like that. Kek pulled me into his lap, dragging his fingers through my hair.

"It's not your fault that your mother died. That was not the first time you killed someone. It's not your fault that you made me. You were bound, and gagged, and there was a knife pressed against your skin. None of that was your will. It was forced on you- you didn't chose it. It's not your fault that I killed your father- that we killed him- because he was going to hurt you again and we had a _right_ to be outside. That was all _forced_ on you!" He pulled his fingers through my hair again.

"The gods didn't give you hair like a daffodil to keep you underground. Flowers are meant to bloom, and no one ever _ever_ has the right to hurt a child. Stop blaming yourself. You were a child. Just a little child. After Battle City you took on the guilt for everything, but dammit, your back carries enough without the guilt over the death of the man who hurt you."

The room went still except for the sound of our tears. We stayed clutched together, and it wasn't until his hands slipped beneath my shirt and started rubbing slow, careful circles into my back that I realized how much my scars were burning, like my memories were threatening to tear them open so all the pain could bleed out. But Kek was already soothing the worst of it. He knew just where to press and how hard for each section.

"I'm not saying there aren't things we should take responsibility for. You killed people in the Ghouls without my influence, and I killed people during Battle City, but for everything that happened underground… Marik, never apologize for any of it- especially for creating me."

My mouth dropped as I realized that he knew where my back hurt the most because he was hurting in all the same places. Our scars were the same. He always acted like they didn't bother him, but each gentle massage was too spot on for him not to have experienced the same pain for himself. My hands dropped down from around his neck and to the lower lettering. At first I could only brush my fingers against the cracked, hard raises on his skin. He wasn't using the proper ointments to keep his scars from drying and splitting, and all the sweaty tank tops probably chafed. No, not only did he understand how much it hurt- his must have hurt even more than mine.

"You're not taking care of your scars at all."

"I don't care." Now there was no playfulness in his words. They were pained and bitter and angry.

I grabbed his face and raised it up to mine. "I care."

He looked sad. I wanted to comfort him somehow, but I didn't know what to do. I wish Bakura was here. He'd somehow know. He was good at _doing_ instead of talking. Ryou would probably know as well, but I only had words.

"I'm sorry I didn't come back for you."

"I know you were helping-"

"And you know I came back because of Bakura." I kissed his forehead. It was my turn to stroke his hair. "I'm sorry I didn't come back for you too. To meet who you've become, but I'm glad you were still here and I got to meet you anyway."

"You jackass…" Kek clenched his teeth. "I never expected you to come back for me."

"But you still wanted me to, didn't you?"

"Yes." He was sobbing hard again. Tears ran down his wrinkled face and his shoulders shook.

"I'm here now." I wrapped my arms around him again and massaged the same areas he was massaging on my back.

He froze and relaxed into my embrace, but after a minute, his body went stiff and he pulled away.

"You're such a fucking bastard, Marik."

Kek lifted me up so he could set me down on my own side of the couch before getting to his feet and pacing across the floor with his arms hugged around his middle. My mouth hung open. I was surprised at the way he'd picked me up and set me down instead of shoving me out of his way.

"I don't understand?"

I understood he was hurting, but not exactly _why_. I couldn't read him nearly as well as he could read me. I suppose because he was the result of everything I never wanted to deal with, and now that I was trying…

Well, it was hard, wasn't it? To deal with the things we shove away.

"You can't say you're here when you're not. Isn't that the point of this? Dredge everything up and rip everything open so you can go back to Egypt and lick your wounds?"

"Oh." I sank back into the sofa, hugging myself as well. He was right.

With a defeated noise Kek dropped back down to the couch, but at the opposite end and facing away from me. He was hunched over and still hugging himself. The curve of his body gave me the perfect view of the scars that were always chasing me, but always behind me. Now I could see them, just like everyone else could see mine that day I showed the Pharaoh.

But his were different. There were thin lines crossing over some of the original scars. His left shoulder in particular had four lines that had cut entirely through the feathers of his wing. I crawled over to him and my hand was out and hovering over the lines before I jerked back.

"Kek?"

"Yeah, you can touch them," he said.

My fingers dropped at the start of the lines, and I could tell that they were scratches. "What happened here?"

"Ryou."

"What?"

"Don't sound so worried. It happened the first time I told him I loved him." Kek laughed. "They're not Atem's memories anymore. They're mine."

"You told him you loved him and he scratched you?"

Kek laughed. It was good to hear, but it made me blush when I figured out _how_ it happened.

"Oh, nevermind." I cleared my throat, changing the subject. "Did you want to see mine?"

"No. I don't want to see your back," Kek snapped.

"Fine. It was just an offer." I scooted away.

"You still don't get it, do you? Gods, you're so damn dense sometimes." He turned around so he could catch my gaze. "If I look at your scars I'm going to touch them again, and then I'll want to wrap my arms around you, and kiss them, and kiss you, and you'll slap me like you slapped Ryou. So are you going to yell at me for skinning your old man or not? Because I'm tired of feeling like my heart's getting flayed and I just want you out of Domino City." He looked away. "Ryou and I have wounds we need to lick too, y'know."

"That's not fair." I hid my face in my hands.

"I'm not blaming you for how you do or don't feel, but I can't sit here and pretend like it doesn't hurt. I told you-" Kek reached around himself, touching his own scars. "I can deal with these. It's emotions that hurt."

My hands dropped. I swallowed, staring off into nothing. "You know, I've seen other scarring initiations as I've traveled."

I raised up my head, sniffing and scrubbing the salt off of my cheeks with the flat off my hand. I wasn't changing the subject, or trying to talk over Kek's feelings. We were somehow having two conversations at once, and the tracks had switched back to father.

Kek was watching me speak, curious.

"A boy, he was a few years older than we had been. His mother gave him millet porridge and then a shot of alcohol. The blacksmith had made a knife specifically for his scarring ritual. I remember thinking, at least it's the blacksmith and not his father. You know what I remember most about that day?"

"The screams?" Kek asked.

I shook my head. "There were no screams. I remember the leaves."

"Leaves?"

I nodded. "Part of their ceremony. They lay on flat earth beneath a tree on a bed of bright, green leaves. I could tell he was in pain, but he never screamed, and afterward everyone was dancing. I stayed for that part, but that night I went off on my own and cried until I puked."

"I'm sorry," Kek whispered.

"Even now I wonder… would it have been different? Had mine been like that? Outside, _outside and not in a tomb_ , going through it for _my_ ancestors instead of a nameless pharaoh? Those leaves were _such a bright green_ , Kek. You've never seen green that bright in Domino City. And the boy was happy when it was over. Well, the man. The moment he stood up and let the blacksmith put ointment on his stomach, he was fully a man by the customs of his village. He kept saying he wasn't sure if he'd make it through it. Ha, just like me, right? Only he was happy… not broken."

"Marik-"

"It's okay-" I raised a hand to stop Kek. "There's a point to all this. The point is, the older I get, and the more of the world I see…" I felt ribbons of heat unfurl down my cheeks, more tears. I paused a moment to sniff back snot, rubbing my nose. "I don't know anymore, okay? I just… don't want to think father was bad. He was probably broken. Maybe he had his own dark personality, only his never had a chance to become human like you did. I don't know, but- it wasn't right. What he did… it wasn't right. Then, a year later, I saw Rishid on the ground, and I thought he was dead, and father said he was going to punish me… I thought I was going to die. I was going to die and no one would know because I was already buried alive."

Kek's arms were knotted around me again. He wasn't crying like I was, though. He was dead quiet. I wished he'd say something, but he didn't, so I continued.

"So no. I'm not going to yell at you for- for keeping me alive that day. But I'm still sad that it happened!"

My face pressed against his chest, soaking his skin with my tears. He rested his cheek on top of my head.

"It's okay, to be sad. That's what I'm learning. I thought emotions were one or the other type things. Happy or sad. Afraid or angry. But it's not like that at all. They heap up on top of each other all at once. No wonder people go crazy. It's the only sane thing to do."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. It actually made my tears stop. I sat up and dried my face again.

"Sorry, I should probably stop half-crawling into your lap."

"It's not that I mind, it's that-" He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Well, that's the whole problem. I don't mind. I really love it, actually. That's why it hurts so much when you do it."

"Because I'm leaving?"

"Because you don't love us."

"Honestly, looking back, I'm not even sure I loved Bakura, at least not that first night when I knocked on the door. I thought I did, but I was naive."

"Perhaps, but It sure is easy to fall in love with him after getting to know him. Isn't it?"

"Yes." I smiled, thinking about Bakura. It _had_ been easy once I got to know the real him.

I was exhausted. I couldn't even keep myself sitting at that point. I shifted so I could sling my feet over the couch-arm and lay my head in Kek's lap. My right hand was on my stomach, but I reached up with my left until I found Kek's palm. I laced our fingers together.

"I've said all I've needed to say, but I don't want to leave yet- unless you'd rather I go."

"You could stay for dinner, if you wanted to. Tell Bakura he has to fucking say goodbye this time if he joins us."

"Tonight I'll probably return to my hotel room once Ryou gets back, but I didn't mean right now. I meant in general. I don't want to leave Domino yet. I want to finish our Monster World campaign. I want to get to know you both a little better."

"So you're staying until the game is played out?"

"I still need to talk to Bakura about it. See how he feels, but I'd hate to leave our campaign unfinished."

"If you're here until the game's over, I'm never letting our party get to the final boss."

"Pfff, no cheating. Ryou will make your character explode, remember?"

" _Keh_ , you really should have been here. Bakura threw such a fit." Kek brushed my bangs behind my ear. "Could I? Look at them? I promise I'll only look. Sorry, I was too emotional earlier."

"You can touch them, if you want." I sat up, pulling up my shirt and bunching it up into my lap.

His fingers were gentle against my skin. I could only imagine, if he were to kiss them, that his lips would be gentle as well. He read my back like braille, stopping and lingering at the area where we started to be separate fragments of consciousness.

"Thanks." He dropped his hand back into his lap. "Never really had a chance to look at them before."

"That's how I felt."

"You could see mine again, if you wanted to," he said.

"I will next time I'm over- when I teach Ryou how to cover your back with ointment."

"Marik-"

"Please, just for a month. You don't have to treat them after that if you don't want to, but give it a try?"

"All right." Kek sighed. "I'll try it for a month."

"Good." I went back to laying in his lap. It was terribly comfortable.

"Wake me up if I fall asleep, okay?"

"I'll do no such thing. Fall asleep on my couch, and I'll carry you to bed and let you sleep until morning."

"Is that bed even big enough for four people?" I chuckled, eyes closed but still awake.

"There was always extra room when it was three."


	58. Bakura 13

I rented a car. It would have been fun to steal Marik's bike, but we were about to go on a massive shopping spree, so we needed the trunk space. Even driving it, I couldn't tell you what kind of car I was in. I didn't really care enough to remember, but it was sleek, fast, and red. Impractical for a single trip to the mall? Yes. Did I care? Pfff, no.

I pulled up to the park where Ryou and I had agreed to meet. He was sitting at a park bench and playing with his phone, but the moment he saw me he started laughing. Ryou jogged over to the car and let himself into the passenger seat.

"I knew it was you right away. Only you would pick something this excessive. Well, I suppose Kaiba would pick out something _more_ excessive, but this is still over the top."

"Hey, I'm a man of elegant tastes."

"It's a good thing I learned how to drive when I had the Ring or this thing would be a death trap."

"Relax." I waived Ryou's doubts away with a swipe of my hand. "I got this."

"If I had 100 yen every time I heard that."

"So did everything work out with Kek?" I asked as I took off down the street. Ryou had texted me why we were going shopping later than planned, and why Marik would be gone longer.

"Yeah, Tristan of all people came and got him. I guess it happened to be his nephew who'd gotten hurt."

"Ouch. That must have been awkward." I winced at the thought. Heh, me, feeling empathy. Who would have guessed _that was even possible_? The gods were probably laughing it up in the Duat as they watched this drama unfold day by day.

"So? Any ideas what you're buying Marik?"

"Fashion-y things. Probably some boots and a jacket. I'll see what the stores have. I need to get at least one gag gift. Wouldn't want him to take me too seriously."

"Heaven forbid." Ryou laughed. "I'm going to get Kek clothes too, only instead of fashion, I'm going to buy him things he can sweat in."

"Ah. Lingerie. Good choice."

"You know…" Ryou blushed. "I'm not even sure what, if any, kind of dressing up Kek would be into in the bedroom. I should ask, I wouldn't mind some sort of sexy roleplay with costumes, if he wanted to."

"Hey no fair. Why aren't you asking me what kind of sexy outfits _I_ want to see you in?"

I think I said it out of habit more than anything... At least, that's how I wanted to justify it. Although my brain was conjuring the most delicious roleplay where Kek and I could play thieves and Ryou could be Egyptian nobility and-

 _And Malik would look good dressed like royalty as well-_

Nevermind, nevermind, nevermind! This fantasy had been cancelled due to life being a cluster-fuck of a mess.

"I would _love_ to do a sexy roleplay with you, Bakura, but unless you have a permission slip signed by Marik, I'm afraid it simply can't happen."

I laughed at the thought of a sex permission slip. "I'd do that as a joke if things weren't so shaky right now."

"Thank you for having enough sense to refrain yourself. I've gotten myself into enough trouble with Marik on my own. I don't need your practical jokes making it worse." Ryou frowned.

"About that," I glanced at Ryou. "Mind explaining all that? I'm pretty fucking confused about what exactly happened."

Ryou groaned. "I just had the world's most embarrassing conversation with Marik not twenty minutes ago, and now you want me to repeat all that? It was awful enough the first time."

I found a parking space and stopped the car so I could fully turn towards Ryou. "Life's a bitch."

Ryou turned away from me, but I could see his flushed face reflecting through the window glass.

"We, Kek and I, liked the idea, of dating Marik. And you were going to leave anyway, so we figured it couldn't hurt to try because if it worked- well, that would have been nice, wouldn't it have been? But we didn't tell you because we didn't want you to be hurt if things didn't work out." Ryou turned back to face me. "And it _didn't_ , so you're welcome."

"Huh, oh." I swirled the info around in my mind like a wine snob might swish a merlot in their mouth. A few things clicked- particularly some of Kek's behavior, and that weird day where they'd been wrestling on the floor butt-ass naked. "Oooooh."

"Oooooh," Ryou mocked, and I was a little proud of the bitterness in his tone. "Dammit, Bakura, I thought you were better at picking up on these sorts of things."

"I am- when I'm being selfish." I snorted a little laugh. "So I guess that's the grand irony of it all. I was thinking of other people for once in my life, trying to actually be _decent_ -"

"And of course I didn't plan for _that_ ," Ryou said, but he'd already lost his bitter edge. His voice was amused now.

"To be fair, it was completely out of character for me, and I'm sorry. From now on, I promise to be as selfish and inconsiderate as possible."

"That's the spirit, Spirit!"

"Ghost puns are dead these days. All the cool kids are into ghost memes."

"I'll be sure to text you a few when you're back in Egypt."

That killed the conversation. We stared out the front windshield, not speaking, but not undoing our seat belts either. It was like we were trying to freeze time by freezing ourselves, and then I'd never be able to leave. Another memory tickled against the back of my thoughts, Marik crying because he would have liked to get to know them better before things had gotten weird.

"I think you accidentally sabotaged yourselves," I muttered.

"Of course we did. We handled the entire situation poorly." Ryou sighed. "If I could do it over again… where are those stupid hour glasses when they'd actually be useful?"

The corner of my mouth twitched up at the reference to my Shadow RPG. "So how did Marik react? After you talked to him. I'm sure he was a little spacy in his head because he's been nervous about talking to Kek, but how did he seem to you?"

"I think well? He said he wanted to finish our campaign before you guys left." Ryou's smile was heartbreaking. "I almost wish you'd just go so I could cry and be done with it."

"Yeah… or suddenly make the campaign 1001 nights themed."

"Ah, what a brilliant idea." Ryou laughed as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Don't tempt me. You know I very well could think up a never-ending campaign story line to add to our current quest."

Ryou leaned over and rested his forehead against my arm. I turned instantly towards his weight and hid my face in his hair. We stayed there, another moment we were trying to suspend in time.

"We need to hurry. I don't know how their talk will go, but I'm sure they'll need to be showered in presents by the time they're done."

That had been the plan from the beginning. Go and load up on gifts so we could smother them after their talk. It was Ryou's plan, and I was jealous that I hadn't thought of it myself. I hated the mall, but it wasn't so bad with Ryou dragging me from store to store. It'd been a while since we'd gotten to hang out, though, and seeing him frowning at gym shoes made me realize how fucking much I missed him, missed both of them.

I bought Marik a faux fox fur coat. Marik was the type of asshole vegan that checked ingredients for gelatin but still had a leather motorcycle jacket, so I could have bought him a real fur coat, but… come on. Of course I wanted to say "faux fox fur" everytime he wore it, and I had full intention of mispronouncing "faux" just so he'd get pissed off and correct me. I also bought him a pair of boots, and myself a pair of thigh highs. Okay, maybe they were meant to be calf high, but on me they went up to the thighs. Fuck it, I know I'm short. Still going to rock the fuck out of those boots on my next date.

After we cleaned out the stores on clothes, Ryou dragged me to the candy store. He bought Kek a mix of random things that he could ration out on cheat days. While he was busy shopping, I picked out a nice box of chocolates to hide in the apartment for Ryou before I left. I almost got busted slipping it into one of Marik's bags as Ryou rushed over to me with a package in his hands.

"I found some Havla. Do you think Marik would like it?"

"I haven't figured out his favorite sweet yet."

"I'll take the gamble. I want to get him something as well. I know today is as hard for him as it is for Kek."

I nodded. "I wanted to get Kek something, too, but I haven't found anything I like."

"There's a few more stores we haven't looked into. I'm sure you'll find something." Ryou flashed that stupid, sweet, aggravatedly adorable smile of his at me and it was hard not to kiss him.

I distracted myself with window shopping, trying to decide what stores were worth checking for a present for Kek. I could have gotten him a six pack of beer as a throw back to Ryou's roses, but I wanted it to be a little… well, I knew he was pissed at me for bailing without a goodbye, and I know a present wasn't going to fix that, but an apology had to start somewhere and that was going to be my first step.

Maybe the toy store was a dumb place to look, but seeing how we were all game fanatics, I figured I might get lucky and find something game-related that would make for a good gift- or at least a funny one. I was searching for games when I walked through the stuffed-animal aisle. I wasn't really paying attention, you could say the idea for a stuffed animal came from above- literally. The damn lion fell off the shelf as I walked by and smacked me on the head. I bent down, picked it up, and studied it. It was sandy, and half mane, and the nose was red and heart shaped, and it was the dumbest idea I'd ever had, but that had never stopped me before, so I carried it to the cash register to check out.

"It's so cute!" Ryou's fingers went straight for the mane. "Oh, and soft!"

I laughed as I watched Ryou stroke the lion. It was pretty accurate. I shrugged.

"It's stupid and he'll probably make fun of me."

"I don't think so." Ryou shook his head as we made our way back to the care with 100 bags hanging from each of our arms. "The flowers were his idea, remember? He has a soft spot for campy romance- just like you do."

"I have no such thing."

"Oh really? _I dwell in darkness without you and it went away_ , then?"

"Godsdammit, Marik. He's such a blabbermouth."

"He didn't know it was from a movie. Well, he does now." Ryou gave me a mischievous laugh.

"Please tell me you didn't tell him _which_ movie."

"Okay."

"Okay, you didn't tell him?"

"Okay, I won't tell you."

"Dammit." I clenched my teeth.

"What's the matter? Afraid he'll see the movie and fall even deeper in love with you after he realizes you're a sap?" Ryou snorted as we stored everything into the trunk of the rental. "I hardly see how that's a problem."

"Shut up."

"Make me." Ryou hummed, ending the conversation by getting into the car.

I glared for a moment. There wasn't much else I could do. Threats become real empty after one loses their ancient Egyptian artifact of dark power and suffering. Being that there was not much I could do about Marik having the information, I got in the car and drove Ryou to the grocery store so he could grab a few things for dinner, and then we were on our way home.

Home.

I still thought of it as home.

The hotel with Marik was like a vacation.

And then we were both supposed to go back _home_.

Which was not Egypt.

It was Ryou's living room. That was home. That first place I'd ever felt safe after thousands of years of being on guard. Playing games on the floor. Snuggling with Kek on the couch. Shit, my first time with Marik was on the couch. Looking back, how fucking dumb was that? And it was like Kek knew, too, that first night after Marik showed up when he cried in the kitchen. I should have paid more attention to what he was saying, but I didn't think… things hadn't gone as planned from the moment I came back to this world.

Ryou was right. Had I known about them wanting to court Marik- and then Marik rejecting them- it would have hurt worlds more than even now, and it _hurt_ … even now.

And it hurt.

Ryou must have felt the same pinch in his chest. He'd grown quiet again, and was staring out the window. I parked at the apartment and grabbed Ryou's hand. He jerked and turned toward me with wide, coffee-brown eyes.

"Hey, no frowns. It's time for operation 'cheer up the boyfriends'."

"Yes, of course." Ryou flashed me a grin.

It was almost convincing. Not that he could fool Kek any more than I could fool Marik.

We carried everything upstairs and Ryou unlocked the door. We found Marik dozing with his head in Kek's lap and Kek stroking Marik's hair. _Not_ the sight I'd prepared myself for, but a delightful alternative.

"No blood, I'm impressed." I ruined the perfect moment with my big mouth.

"Disappointed?" Marik asked, his eyes still closed as he lay relaxed in Kek's lap. "Unlike you, some of us are mature enough to solve our problems without three thousand years of drama."

"Alas, I have seen the error of my ways. I'm going to go over to Yugi's place right now and lay in the Pharaoh's lap so he can stroke my hair."

"Psh, make sure Ryou gets a picture because I'll send it straight to Ishizu." Marik snickered.

"Her head would explode." Kek rolled his eyes. Then he grinned at Ryou. "Most of those don't look like grocery bags."

Ryou flushed, his eyes flashed with excitement and his grin hardly fit his face. "They're not! I bought you a few things! Let me put the actual groceries away and then I'll show you!"

Ryou disappeared into the kitchen. Curiosity got Marik to open his eyes and sit up. Now it was my turn to grin.

"I might have bought you a few things as well." I went over to him. "Although this one's for Ryou since it was his idea to buy you guys stuff." I winked as I showed Kek where I hid the chocolates. "Make sure he finds that, okay?"

Kek nodded. Then I sat in front of Marik on the couch and handed everything except the toy store bag over. Ryou appeared a few seconds later and dropped more bags onto Kek's lap.

"Oh, but this is for you, Marik." He held out the brick of havla out to Marik. "I hope you like it. Bakura wasn't sure what sweets you liked."

"Thanks." Marik's eyes had gotten glassy when I handed over the bags, and a single tear managed to roll down his cheek as he took the Havla.

Fear shot across Ryou's face. "Oh no, did I pick the wrong thing? Was it improper to buy you something at all? Should I-"

"Calm down, Ryou." Marik laughed as he ran his wrist across his cheek. "I just wasn't expecting to be showered in gifts today." His cheeks grew bright, more of a glow than a blush. "Could… could I have a hug?"

"Of course!" Ryou all but threw himself at Marik.

I had the scoot out of the way to avoid Ryou tripping over me. I figured that was a good time to pass over the lion. I pulled him from the bag and pushed him in Kek's direction.

"Um… "

Good start, Bakura, you're a fucking poetic genius.

Kek took the toy out of my hands and gasped. "It's soft."

"The bastard fell off a shelf and hit me on the head and he reminded me of you."

"Because I've gone soft?" Kek teased.

"You know damn well it's the hair." I scratched my arm. "Look… I fucked up, and ran out like a little bitch the other day and didn't say goodbye, and I know I'm an asshole, and I think sorries are stupid and useless, but- fuck, I really am, though. Sorry. I'll try to find a better way to show it besides a dumb toy, but-"

Kek buried his face into the lion's mane. The little sniffs started soft, but grew to hiccups that made his shoulders twitch. As soon as he started crying we all swarmed him. Marik grabbed his left arm, and Ryou was pressed beside Marik and stroking Kek's hair. I slipped my hands through the toy mane so I could find Kek's hands and lace our fingers together. I also pressed our foreheads together. My throat felt like I'd swallowed shards of glass.

"Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck_." Kek cursed between little, broken sobs. "So sick of crying. Sick of emotions. It's not fair. I wasn't made for this. It's not- f- How can I be so happy, and sad, and angry all at the same time?!"

 _Shit!_

The glass was too sharp, pierced too deeply. I tried to swallow, but I could feel heat dripping down my cheeks as Kek's sorrow broke me.

"You did run out, and it _hurt._ The Shadows don't even know! They don't even know how to hurt someone that much! But, despite that-" He sniffed, trying to calm himself, his sobs verging on hyperventilating more than crying. "Despite that… I miss you. I miss you so fucking bad."

I couldn't take it. Almost destroyed the world? No regrets. But this? _This_. These tears were my fault, and I _regretted_ causing them in a way I never regretted anything before in my entire existence. Ryou, too. His face was buried into Kek's hair and although he wasn't making any noise, the tremble in his shoulders betrayed his crying for what it was.

Even Marik was trying to comfort them. He kept petting Ryou's hair spilling over his shoulder, and he leaned forward and kissed the tip of Kek's scars on his shoulder. He was whispering in what I called _tomb-speak_ , and I wondered if Marik even realized he'd jumped languages, but I couldn't really process it. All I knew at that moment was I had to do something to soothe Kek's hurt, and maybe it was the way Marik had kissed Kek's scars, or maybe it was the memory of mine and Kek's first night together, but in any case, kissing seemed like the only answer.

I pushed the stuffed lion away from his face and let go of his hands so I could lift up his chin. I shoved away the tears from his dark cheeks and kissed the drops my fingers missed. It was just supposed to be his cheeks. That was my intention, but my lips pressed against his hot, hot, skin made Kek sigh, and close his eyes, and tilt his face _just right_ , and instinct took over and my lips brushed over his. It'd been so long since I kissed him, and I'd been missing him too (him and Ryou), and our lips felt welded together, and I didn't want it to end- until a heard a shocked gasp and opened my eyes and saw Marik with his fingers pressed against his own lips.

The reality of what I was doing crashed down and I jerked back, falling and landing on my ass. A sob pushed its way through my clenched teeth and I buried my face in my hands.


	59. Marik 13

My breath caught in my throat when I realized that Bakura had bought me presents, and that Ryou had done the same for Kek. It was sweet. It was… like the halva; it was rich, and dense, and nostalgic, and sweet. When Ryou handed the tub of candy to me, it was a little overwhelming. The tear that rolled down my cheek was happy, but Ryou thought he'd upset me. I wanted to show him, somehow, that I wasn't, and for someone who had slapped him after being kissed, I sure didn't want to let go after he threw his arms around me. In fact, had he kissed me _at that moment_ instead of when he had… but things were a little different now. At least, I understood what was going on now.

Bakura was stumbling through an apology, and I was about to laugh at him, but then Kek started crying. Ryou and I rushed toward him at the same time, comforting him as best we could.

When I saw Kek cry, all I wanted was for him to stop.

I just. Wanted. Him. To. Stop.

We've cried enough. Both of us. All four of us. I would have done anything in that moment to turn his tears to laughter. I noticed Ryou crying with him, and my heart was breaking.

I reached out and stroked Ryou's hair as if that would somehow help. Meanwhile, I placed a kiss on Kek's shoulder, catching the area that Ryou had scratched over with my lips. I whispered to him in a panic.

 _It's Okay_

 _It's Okay_

 _It's Okay_

 _It's Okay_

The words sounded strange. Something in the back of my thoughts knew that was because I was speaking in our tongue instead of Japanese, but I was too desperate to try and soothe him to sort out languages in my head.

 _I promise it's okay_

 _I will bandage your heart_

There wasn't a translation for what I was trying to say. There were no words in our childhood language that could convey the tangle of emotions I felt in that moment.

He took all that pain for me, back then, and my mind was racing for a way to be able to do the same for him now. He'd told me, over and over, that emotional pain hurt him more than the scars, and I _did not want him to hurt like that_. But what could I do? I didn't know what would fix it. I just... _needed_ him to stop crying. _He fucking deserved to be happier than this_.

There was an urge in my throat, like a tickle, to lean forward and kiss his scars again, but I feared that I wasn't going to stop until his tears were dry.

Bakura beat me to it, kissing the tears off of Kek's cheeks. I watched Kek relax, and his lips part, and Bakura leaning in to brush their mouths together. My own mouth dropped as an excited spark lit up in my belly. My fingers grazed my own lips, and it wasn't until I felt the snag of Ryou's hair as I pulled away that I realized I'd kept my fingers twisted up with his strands the entire time.

Bakura noticed me watching and he jerked away, choking back sobs, and I was as frantic to stop his tears as I had been to stop Kek's.

"Bakura." I crawled off the couch and to where he sat.

To hell with poise or grace, I fumbled across the carpet like a drunk until my arms were locked around his torso.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry-"

"Shhh. Shhhh." Now I was stroking his hair. It was sleek and smooth, delightful to touch. Part of my brain couldn't help but compare it to the wispy dandelion fluff texture of Ryou's hair, only Bakura's was a little heavier between my fingers. "Bakura, don't cry."

"I didn't mean to. I couldn't help it. I miss them. I'm with you. I am, but-"

Bakura had been gentle, when he kissed Kek. He feathered their lips together. I could not imagine angels kissing more softly.

I was not gentle, when I kissed Bakura. I slammed our lips together, pushed hard, sucked against his bottom lip. My fingers tightened into his hair, yanking instead of petting.

I _needed_ him to stop crying. _I needed us all to stop crying_.

I didn't give a fuck about who kissed who, or who was with who. I just wanted everyone's tears to go away.

I…

I wanted...

We broke apart, chests heaving for air. Bakura panted with his mouth wide open. He lips were thick and dark from arousal and the friction of our kisses. I wished they weren't. I wished his eyes weren't burning as he gave me a questioning look. I wished his chest wasn't rising so rapidly as he caught his breath. It made me want him. Right then and there. He would have looked fetching spread out on the floor with those bright fucking eyes of his locked on me and those dark fucking lips of his screaming out joy instead of sobs.

He still wanted some kind of answer. I could tell by the expression on his face. I shrugged. It must have been how Ryou often felt, having so much to express, but tripping over every word and _needing_ to use action instead. I pulled a deep, stabilizing breath into my lungs.

"Don't apologize, not to me. It was Kek you were apologizing to."

"Yeah, but-"

"There's no need to apologize," I repeated.

"Maybe I should make some tea so we can all calm down. It's been a long day for everyone." Ryou rushed off to the kitchen again.

"Sure the fuck has." Kek dropped on the couch on his back, blinking up at the ceiling. He turned to us with a little smirk although his eyes were red-rimmed and bright burning sulfur. "Is it too late to reverse my decision to be human?"

"'Fraid so." Bakura shot at him.

They exchanged a smile for a wonderful moment, but it faded from their faces as they looked away from each other. Kek sat up, holding his stomach.

"I don't feel good. I'm going to lay down." Kek stood up and walked toward the hallway. He stopped beside us but looked at neither of us. "Guess… I'll see you guys around."

"Yeah… later." Bakura looked the other way.

"Do you need something?" I stood up. "Soup? Medicine? Ryou's making tea, want me to bring you a cup when it's done?"

Kek shook his head and continued walking down the hallway.

"Maybe we should go back to the hotel and leave them alone," Bakura suggested.

"You're probably right, but…" I bit my bottom lip. Kek was probably crying again. Ryou was probably crying in the kitchen. I didn't want to leave on such bad terms. "Go make sure Kek's okay, I'll go check on Ryou, and then we'll let them be."

"Are you sure?" Bakura held my shoulder and cupped my cheek. "How are you feeling?"

How was I feeling? Awful, I supposed. I wanted to scoop everyone up in a pile until everyone stopped crying. It was more complicated than that, however, because I was aware that the exact thing I wanted to do would just make Ryou and Kek more sad. And as much as part of me wanted to run to each of them, kiss them like Bakura had kissed Kek, and see what happened, I really didn't trust myself enough to move on impulse. I needed to wait until I'd had some time for everything that had happened today to simmer in my mind _then_ decide how I felt about… both of them.

"I'm worried about everyone," I murmured to Bakura trying to be honest as I possibly could without joining in on the tear fest again.

"Okay, check on Ryou, and I'll say goodbye to Kek one more time."

With a quick kiss we parted. I entered the kitchen and sighed when Ryou spun away from me. He pressed his face against a cupboard door to hide his tears.

"I thought that's why you were in here."

"Tea will be just a moment, Marik." Ryou sniffed as he grabbed the kettle.

"Let me." I held his upper arm and stole the kettle from his hand.

"Please, no. You're a guest. It's my job to make the tea for you."

"Don't say I'm a guest like that. You wouldn't say that to Jounouchi and Honda, would you?"

"Like they could manage boiling water." Ryou laughed, wiping at his face as I set the kettle on the burner. "Jonouchi tried to cook a candy bar once."

"I'm not even going to ask." I grinned and shook my head.

I took a step closer, watching Ryou's reaction. He stayed neutral, neither flinching back nor leaning forward. I took a gamble, betting that he'd prefer me closer. I brushed a stray lock out of his face and cupped his cheek, resting my forehead against the top of his head.

"I know everything's a mess right now, but it's going to be okay."

"I know. I know," Ryou repeat, nodding his head.

I backed up a bit because of Ryou's head gesture. At least he'd stopped crying, but the sadness in his eyes still ripped at my chest.

"We'll work something out," I said.

"Sure." Ryou smiled.

"Nnn-hmm. No fake smiles. I hate them." I brushed his bottom lip with the pad of my thumb. The second I did it, Ryou's eyes went wide and I jerked my hand away, hugging myself instead. "Sorry, that must have seemed like a mixed signal."

"Yes. Very much so."

I like that he didn't deny it or make excuses for me. I stared up at Ryou's kitchen ceiling, trying to gather my thoughts.

"More like testing the waters."

"What do you mean, Marik?" Ryou asked.

"Look, everything's fuzzy in my head right now. Too much has happened today. I can't really think, or focus when I'm like this. I need to go back to the hotel and sort everything out, but…" I held both his hand, my thumbs grazing Ryou's knuckles. "Could I text you in a few days? If I have any questions, or-or If I just want to say hi, or-"

"Of course Marik. I'd like that. I think if we talk more, it'll be easier for Bakura to feel like he can talk to us without hurting you somehow."

"I keep trying to tell him it's okay, but he always gives an excuse to avoid the conversation."

"I can't throw stones. Conversations are difficult." The laugh that escaped Ryou was fragile, but preferable to his earlier weeping.

I realized, as I watched the curves of his cheekbones as he smiled, that I wanted to kiss him.

And I hated myself for it.

I didn't have the _right_. Not after slapping him for doing the same thing to me.

Why couldn't I have figured this out earlier? Or was I chasing shadows? Lost in the moment because everyone was emotional? _Fuck!_

I didn't know what I wanted anymore.

The kettle whistled. I spun and fixed two cups of tea. "Kek is lying down in your room. I'm going to take him a cup and then Bakura and I are going to head out."

"All right." Ryou followed me with his own cup in hand. "Thank you for the tea."

"Thanks for the Halva. I'm surprised you found some in Domino City."

"It's probably not the best. I should try making it. Maybe when Kek has a cheat day so he could have some as well."

"Bakura hid some chocolates for you in the living room. Kek knows where they are."

"What? He did? I was with him the entire time. How did he sneak those past me?"

"Well, he is the Thief King." I smiled.

We walked into the bedroom. Bakura and Kek were on their sides, holding each other's faces and speaking in low voices. They'd both used the term _Resurrection Club_ and watching them brought the phrase to mind. They looked like two people that had been to the edge of existence and back together.

And it was beautiful to watch. The smile on their faces made me smile, as if their happiness were contagious.

"Ryou are you okay?" Bakura asked, sitting up when he noticed us watching them.

"Yes. Are you two okay?"

"I'm fine." Kek snorted.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" I held it out to him.

Kek didn't say anything, but he sat up and took the cup.

"Thanks," he muttered after a moment passed.

"Hey, Bakura, how did you even get all those bags from the mall to the apartment anyway?" I asked.

"He rented a car," Ryou answered.

"Good. Mind giving me a ride home?" I winked at him, trying to be flirty, but honestly my thoughts were too rampant and distant to be driving.

"Yeah, I'll go load everything up."

He kissed Kek's forehead, whispering a goodbye before standing to his feet and doing the same for Ryou. It was the first time something akin to jealousy crept up in my chest, but not because I was upset at the chaste kisses to their foreheads, but because _I couldn't give them the same sort of goodbye_. Instead I stroked Kek's hair for a second and placed my motorcycle keys into his palms.

"What's this?" Kek asked.

"Well, everyone else gave you something. That's my present to you."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted you to have it. I even bought it in white."

His mouth was slack. I didn't wait for a thank you. I could tell he was struggling to process the information still. I turned to Ryou, brushing his hair out of his face again.

"I'll keep an eye out for something to get for you."

"Thank you, but that isn't necessary."

"I know, but I'd still like to."

Ryou reached out, touching my earring for a second and then dropping his hand. "A few videos of Bakura being goofy would be the best present you could give me."

"All right."

I leaned in without thinking. Ryou mirrored me. I went so far as to tilt my head before sucking in a sharp breath and stepping back.

"I'll text you in a day or two. See you guys later." I rushed out of the room and to the living room where Bakura grabbed the last of my bags.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded and followed him down to the car. I leaned back in the seat, closed my eyes, and rubbed my temples and Bakura talked and drove.

"That didn't go as planned. Not that anything ever does."

"Tell me about it."

"Are you okay?"

"Headache. Too much crying. I'm probably dehydrated. I'll drink some water at the hotel."

"Guess we both should." Bakura sighed. "Look-"

"Do not apologize to me again."

"You don't have to be cool about this, Marik. I'd rather you yell at me for being a rude prick than to try and act laissez-faire about it."

"You two were smiling at each other while you laid on the bed, and it was like I could feel exactly how happy you were."

"I can't help it. That's why I've been avoiding them."

"I wasn't accusing you of being happy with someone else; I'm telling you that I was happy with you. So stop avoiding them. You being skittish is just making everything more confusing for me." I grit my teeth, frustrated. "Does that even make sense? When you're beside them and happy, it makes _me_ happy."

"It makes sense." Bakura exhaled, keeping his eyes on the road. "That's how I feel when I see Ryou and Kek laughing together."

"I know you miss them," I said.

"Of course I miss them."

"We can stay in Domino for longer."

"That'll only delay the inevitable, and worse, make my leaving loom over every moment we have together."

I dropped my head, staring into my lap. He was right. Staying was cruel, but I didn't want to leave until I knew how I really felt and what I really wanted. I was afraid to rush into things, but I was more afraid of walking away because that felt like the wrong choice, like something I'd regret for the rest of my life.

"Remember at the pier? When we talked before our date? You were telling me about the first time you kissed Ryou, and explaining that it was your way of giving him permission."

"Yeah."

"That's what Ryou was trying to do for me, wasn't it? He wasn't trying to manipulate me, he was trying to give me permission."

Bakura nodded, parking the car and fidgeting with the keys.

"I wished I'd have known. At the very least, I wouldn't have slapped him and gotten so upset."

"He said he talked to you today."

"He did."

"Marik, what do you want to do?"

"Go slow? Try to figure out how I really feel about things."

I had my eyes closed as I said the words, so Bakura's warm fingers twining with mine came as a pleasant surprise. I looked up at him. The look in his eyes was affectionate, and- despite knowing that Bakura was actually a sappy bastard- it was still a bit of a shock to see. I mirrored his smile.

"Let's go to our room and get some water."

I nodded and helped him carry all my things to our room. Sitting on the bed with a bottle of water, I started to actually go through the packages.

"I'm a little horrified," I said as I opened up boxes and bags with boots and scarfs, tight, revealing shirts and a gorgeous fur coat.

"Why?" Bakura gave me a concerned look.

"You actually have good fashion sense. Since when?"

"Hey, go through Ryou's wardrobe and see what _you_ end up wearing."

"Well maybe you should have done less Pharaoh-destroying and more clothes-shopping when Ryou had the Ring."

"Should'a, could'a, would'a. Actually, shopping with Ryou was fun. I went out with Kek several times because I got along with his friends, but I missed out on that with Ryou because I was avoiding Atem." Bakura pursued his lips. "I kinda regret that now."

"Because you didn't get to beat Atem in a game of Uno?" I smirked.

We both looked at each other and started laughing. I wrapped Bakura in the coat and pulled him to me. His eyes lost some of their focus and half-lidded. The fur collar framed his silvery-white hair, and he looked gorgeous. I plucked a kiss from his lips, and once I'd had one, I wanted more, so I closed my eyes and felt out his lips with my own. We sat on the bed, surrounded by pretty things that he'd bought to cheer me up, and my heart felt like it was swelling as I massaged my lips against his.

"Marik," Bakura gasped, lips plump and friction dark again, like earlier.

"It's soft." I ran the fur against his scarred cheek. Then I started unbuttoning his shirt. I wanted to rub the fur against his scarred chest.

"It's fake." He giggled. "I wanted to tell you how I got you a faux fox fur… um, coat… _ah_."

His focus dissipated as I kissed down his chest one button's worth of space at a time. He said "fox-fox" instead of faux fox, but my tongue lapping against his nipple ruined his attempt to be funny.

"Mmmm, yes, very clever, Bakura," I teased in a low, seductive voice.

I slipped his shirt away from his chest and pulled the fur closer around him. I guided Bakura down to his back, having to pull the boots from beneath him before he could relax into the fur. Kissing down his chest and stomach, I paused for a moment to unfasten his belt.

"You said you wanted to go slow." Bakura half sat up.

I laughed at how cute Bakura was when he was concerned. I also shoved him back into the mattress, locking my gaze onto his.

"With the other two, so I can figure out how I honestly feel, but Bakura-" I smiled as I combed my fingers through his hair, more soft and luxurious than the faux fur surrounding him. "I already know how I feel about you. I'd tell you, but I'm sick of talking. I've been talking all day long and I'm exhausted with it, so tonight…" I pulled his belt away, popping the button of his pants loose with my thumb and forefinger. "Let me do things your way. Let me show you how I feel instead of saying it."

Then I was attacking him like a storm. One tug had his pants down to his knees, another to his ankles, and a final had them on the floor. Bakura helped kick out of each leg, his heels knocking a silk top and a pair of gold-framed sunglasses to the floor with his pants. I shoved a few more things down to give us room as I hoisted my top up over my shoulders. The second my pants lay crumpled on top of everything else, I slipped between Bakura's legs. His thighs were warm, and supple, and I scooped my body up so our skin could slide against each other. I bent down to kiss him and he grabbed our cocks in his hand, rubbing them together and making me moan. I kept rocking into him, biting the side of his neck with each thrust. Each time, Bakura cried out. I glanced up toward the nightstand where we kept the lube, but I couldn't stop. It felt too good just as we were, so I continued to buck into Bakura's hand and against his cock until my thrusts were too sloppy for me to kiss him, and I moaned into his hair as we moved.

I remembered the fur coat, and grabbed the sleeve, teasing it up and down Bakura's stomach and chest, bringing it up to his collarbone and caressing his cheek. Bakura arched as it brushed against his stomach, and tilted his head to nuzzle my wrist when I was caressing his cheek. His response was so arousing, that I slowed down my hips, dragging the pleasure out so I could explore other parts of his body with the fur.

I brought our lips back together, gliding the fur up and down Bakura's side. He bucked up, impatient. My smile broke our kisses and I moved down his chest with my lips. Bakura squirmed, missing the pressure of my cock against his, but I kept shifting down until my tongue swirled along the hood of his tip and Bakura screamed. I flicked my tongue along his slit and then looked up at him.

"Put it on."

"Huh?"

"The coat. I like how you look in it."

Bakura looked like he was too lost to understand my words, but he slipped his arms into the coat as I dropped down to the floor. I had to shove our stuff out of the way again, but then I pulled Bakura closer.

"Sit on the edge."

"Holy shit," Bakura muttered, as he gripped the edge of the mattress and framed me with his thick, brown thighs.

He really did look good in nothing but fur, chest and ab muscles peeking out from the center. One end slipped down, exposing the curve of his collarbone and the slope of shoulder. I savored the image for another moment, committing it to memory and then burying his cock with my mouth.

"Oh… fuck!" Bakura flung his head back, using his grip as leverage so he could buck deeper.

I allowed my mouth to water over his skin as I bobbed up and down. I held his base with one hand, and rested my other hand on top of his knuckles, squeezing his fingers as I sped up.

"Ah! Marik! Ah! Marik! Ah! Ahhhhhh!"

Bakura was shaking. He cock grew fat. He sang out vowels, free hand gripping my hair and using it like reigns. Then he was shooting come into the back of my throat, and I waited until he finished before swallowing. Pulling back, I licked my lips and stared at him. His hair was mussed, his mouth was slack as he panted, his breath shifted the fine hairs of fur near his collar.

"Lean over the edge of the bed," I ordered as I jumped up to finally fetch the lube.

By the time I was slick and ready, I turned around and saw Bakura with his hands and knees on the bed and his ass in the air. He still wore the coat, and it draped across his back and down his sides. I threaded the fingers of my left hand through the fur for a moment before pushing it up higher on his back so I wouldn't soil it. Then, with my slick right fingers, I pushed into him. I stretched Bakura until he was hitching back into my fingers, and then I slid my entire cock inside him instead. Bakura grunted, fists curling into the plastic shopping bags still on the bed. I pulled back and glided back in, sighing at how good Bakura felt squeezing around my cock.

"Bakura, you're so fucking hot," I whispered the compliment, my nails digging into his hips so I could push in and out a little faster.

Bakura's whimpers were sweet. He'd already came, but the way he moaned, and arched his back, and squeezed me with eager clenches of his ass you wouldn't have guessed it. I watched him until the last second, until the friction around my cock was too tight, and too glorious to hold back any longer. Slamming my eyes shut, I hammered into Bakura's body, _yes, yes, yes,_ and- _ahhhhhhh gods!_

I think I screamed the last part out loud, but I was drowning in my own euphoria, so I didn't know the difference between my shouts and my thoughts. I doubled over Bakura, waiting for my heartbeat to slow back to normal.

"Oh dammit! My boots!" Bakura punched the mattress.

"What?" I lifted up my head, confused.

"This would have been even hotter with my boots." Bakura grabbed one of the unopened bags and pulled out a box, revealing a pair of red leather boots.

I started laughing.

"Don't you laugh like you wouldn't have enjoyed it." Bakura slipped on the boots, they went up mid-thigh and had a nice heel on them.

My laughter caught in my throat as I stared at Bakura standing there in thigh-highs and my coat.

"Exactly." Bakura's smirk was smug. He dropped the coat over a chair to avoid soiling it and marched toward the bathroom. He stopped in the door from, tossing a coy look over his shoulder. "Well? Hurry up. I need help unzipping these before I get into the shower."

I realized I was holding my breath as I openly stared at him. I scraped my teeth against my bottom lip, grinning, and then chased Bakura into the bathroom.


	60. Kek 14

We left the teacups on the nightstand. I curled up into the blankets and Ryou slipped behind me, pressing his face against the ankh on my back and growling that adorable, frustrated growl of his. His voice muffled while he vented.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, Marik is so stupid! I know he can't help it, but good gods!"

A single, dry snort of laughter escaped from my nostrils. I knew what he meant. It was like Marik was trying to make things as confusing as possible, but I knew it was really that Marik was confused and projecting that onto all his behavior. Maybe I shouldn't have let him lay in my lap- set better boundaries and force him to verbally challenge them if he wanted to cross them, but… there'd been so much emotional turmoil between us that I really didn't have the strength to say no to something that had been calming and pleasant for both of us.

I looked at the foot of the bed. All four furballs had gathered around our feet. Diabound VII was content to sleep in a swirl of fur. Asshole-Hamyaa was watching our feet for movement, ready to pounce. Jason was watching Hamyaa with the same eager, predatory intent that Hamyaa had for our feet, but Ducati was slowly making his way closer to our hands. We've played this game before. If I'd reach out now, he would run back to the others and scorn me, but if I waited until he headbutted my chin, then I'd be able to pet him until I fell asleep.

"Marik's like a cat," I said. Although maybe I meant 'Marik is like his cat and they're both problematic.' "You have to wait until they feel like it's time for affection, otherwise they bat at you."

"Literally." Ryou's breath huffed as he said the word, but I could hear a trace of amusement in his tone.

"I know Marik. He's not sure if he wants what he wants, so he's going to act wishy washy now. You're just going to have to call him out on it."

"I'm not very good at that sort of thing, but I will try." Ryou wrapped his arm around my stomach.

I sighed and grabbed Ryou's hand, pulling it up over my heart instead of my stomach. He made a small, happy noise against my back and nuzzled a little closer.

"Ow! Hamyaa!" Ryou called out a second later.

"Got your feet?" I chuckled.

"I'm hiding them under the blanket- well, no need. There they go."

Jason had pounced on Hamyaa after Hamyaa attacked Ryou. The two wrestled themselves off the bed and then sped off for their usual game of tag.

"I should get up and make dinner," Ryou sighed.

"Not yet. Stay here. I'm not hungry anyway." I squeezed Ryou's hand.

"I'm sorry your day was such shit." Ryou planted three kisses against my back.

"Can we just order food and eat in bed?"

"Mmmm… that sounds fun and delicious." Ryou let go of me and grabbed his cell phone. "I'll order now, and hopefully you're hungry again by the time it arrives."

"Thanks." I rolled onto my back, ignoring Ducati and peeking at Ryou's phone screen.

"Is _yakiniku_ okay?"

"Yeah, that's a good choice." I grinned against Ryou's shoulder. I knew Ryou would order something that wouldn't completely kill my meal plan for the day, and I appreciated that.

After he ordered, he set down his phone and laced our fingers together. His forehead pressed against mine and I could feel the tension draining from my skull. I exhaled, squeezing our hands together and thanking every god I could remember that I had Ryou beside me. It didn't spare me my complicated feelings towards Marik, and it didn't stop me from missing Bakura, but neither of those things could dampen the love I felt for Ryou either. I kept kissing the tip of his nose until he couldn't stop giggling.

Ducati finally got tired of playing coy and jumped in between us, demanding attention with a little cry. Ryou laughed again, and scritched the crown of Ducati's head until the cat's signature engine purr was rumbling. The doorbell made Ducati and Diabound scatter, and Ryou got up to get our dinner.

I pushed myself up to sitting. I was a little queasy still, but my stomach was also rumbling and I know if I didn't eat tonight I'd fatigue too quickly when I lifted weights tomorrow, so I smiled and ate the carton of food Ryou handed to me. After a few minutes of meat and rice, I started feeling better, and by the time the container was empty I felt somewhat normal again.

"What do you want to do for the rest of the night?" Ryou combed his fingers through my hair and smiled. "Anything you want. Name it, and we'll do it."

"Kill the Pharaoh and drown the world in darkness."

"If you want, but…" Ryou winked at me. "Who will play Uno with us if we kill Atem?"

"Yeah, I guess we can work on our Monster World campaign. I want a different character."

"Should I kill off your old one so you have an excuse to switch out?" Ryou shifted his eyebrows higher as he asked the question.

I faked batted my eyelashes at him. "Would you dear?"

"Of course. I'll make sure your death is gruesome and unnecessarily brutal."

"You're so cruel." I kissed him. "That's why I love you."

"You're so fun." Ryou kissed me back. "That's why I love you."

"Well you-" I broke my own sentence to kiss Ryou again. "Are also adorable, and that makes me love you even more."

"And you-" Ryou giggled from both the compliments and the kisses, but did his best to speak through the onslaught of both. "Are actually one of the kindest people I know."

"Whatever!"

"It's true." Ryou trailed his kisses to my neck. "You're very patient with people."

"Well I have to be because their stupidity makes me honestly want to break their noses."

"Yes, but you don't. I work in retail; I know how hard that can be."

We both laughed, and teased each other with a few minutes of extra kissing before getting up and gathering up our character sheets and game notes.

"Any hints about what sort of character you're making? Or is it a surprise for all of us?"

"I want the sort of character that I'd like to see in a movie, but never get to," I answered. "I'll let you see my sheet when I'm done writing the biography."


	61. Marik 14

_Another dream._

 _Bakura was in his original body this time, all dark and wiry and that ear-to-ear grin that made his scar scrunch up as much as his nose did. Gods, I loved when he made that face, and he was making it for me, looking right at me and crooking a finger toward me._

 _Ryou knelt on the bed behind him, kissing down Bakura's shoulder and arm. His white hair cascaded down his side as he worked his lips gently against Bakura's scarred-pocked skin. Heat rose within me. My groin tightened, I felt like I could come from the sight of them alone._

 _I also felt fingers tracing my own scars as I watched Ryou and Bakura. I didn't have to turn around, I already knew it was Kek behind me. His breath tickled the back of my neck as his fingertips trailed down. He liked to touch the picture of Ra the most. His fingers ran over the shape of the wings a dozen times as Ryou shoved Bakura onto his belly so he could work his lips down Bakura's spine._

 _Ryou glanced up at me and winked before slipping his fingers into Bakura and making Bakura call out with a wide-open mouth. Bakura's face flushed deep burgundy as his fingers curled into the bedsheets. I reached for Kek's wrists, pulling him around me and slammin him onto the bed beside Bakura and Ryou. I fell on top of him, seeing him for the first time. I noticed his eyes were a completely different color than mine. Purple, almost periwinkle, but not lavender. I twined my fingers through his hair and pulled hard as I slid our cocks together. The harder I pulled his hair, the harder he begged, and the harder he begged, the more I needed to rut against him._

 _Ryou pulled his fingers out of Bakura so they could scrabble on each side of us. Bakura kissed my back, just as Kek had. Ryou's lips were pressed against my ear, whispering what I should do. Tug Kek's hair, bite his nipples, circle my hips. Each time I followed Ryou's suggestion Kek wailed out the names of different gods, but I decided I didn't want to be told what to do, so I grab Ryou and smashed our mouths together. My eyes were closed as I kissed him, but it was a dream, so I knew he was blushing- a glowing, rosey pink that made the white of his skin stand out more brightly than before._

 _It was not a sweet kiss. Not like the little invitation from the day I slapped him. This was a real kiss, full of tongue and wanton intent. And while our tongues swirled together, Kek grabbed my cock as Bakura pushed inside me, I felt a jolt of pleasure shock my entire core. I growled, frantic for more even as they gave it to me. The decadent shivers trembling within me seemed to condense into my center, growing thick and heavy as I-_

My eyes opened seconds before I could come. I moaned out loud, my balls throbbed and my cock was rock-fucking-hard.

"Nightmare?" Bakura muttered, nuzzling against my shoulder and kissing it.

"No…" I shifted into his touch, wanting it, wanting anything I could get as my body throbbed with unresolved tension.

"What's wrong? You sound a little upset."

"Just frustrated." I groaned, covering my face with my hands. "It's like my dreams have been sponsored by PornHub this last week."

"Oh, is that all?" Bakura laughed.

"Shut-up. It's annoying and embarrassing."

"I'm just glad you're not having nightmares." Bakura kissed my shoulder again, inching across my chest. "So? Do I make a cameo in any of these erotic dreams of yours?"

"All of you are in them," I sighed, both from frustration, and from Bakura's lips against my skin.

"Oooh." Bakura pulled away. "I get why you sound distressed now. Don't worry, Marik." Bakura combed his fingers through my hair. "It's probably just anxiety fucking with you in your sleep."

"Yeah." I shifted a little, missing Bakura's mouth against my skin. I'd been _on the brink_ , and I couldn't think straight with my cock twitching against my thigh. "I feel guilty. I slapped him for doing much less than what I'm dreaming about."

Bakura stifled a little moan and hid against my shoulder. He clearly wouldn't mind hearing a few details and _damn_ if it wasn't tempting to give them to him. I could just imagine the way his eyes would lose focus and go dreamy if I whispered to him about how I'd been rutting against Kek, or how Ryou had finger fucked Bakura until his cheeks had been the color of poppy blossoms. I could whisper all that while shoving my cock balls-deep into his ass and watch him unravel long before I finished retelling the dream.

Yes, I could imagine all that _in far too much detail_ , and I moaned again, much louder than Bakura had, and grit my teeth while slamming my eyes closed. It was getting more and more difficult, with each passing day, to act like I wasn't at least _physically_ attracted to them, but I was still trying to figure out if I liked their personalities or not. We'd been talking, texting mostly, for two weeks since the day I talked to Kek. We'd played Monster World last night- Kek's poor character was torn apart by mermaids. It was pretty bloody. I'm not even sure why he thought it'd be a good idea to swim with them? His character was a little drunk at the time. We were going to play again next weekend, but he just laughed when I asked about his new character.

And we seemed to get along well enough. The more we talked, texted, and gamed, the more I realized I could hang out with them on a regular basis, but… was that enough? I wasn't even sure why it was important anyway. They were cute, they were reasonably fun, shouldn't that have been enough? But the more I talked to Bakura, the closer we got emotionally, the more I realized that if I was going to entertain the idea of added relationships, _they had to be as good as me and Bakura were together_. Mere friends with benefits weren't for me. And, though I'd had a few one-night-stands scattered over the years, I never really cared that much for them. I liked _this_. This, right here, right now. Laying in bed with Bakura. Him giggling against my skin- even if he was laughing at our mutual sexual frustration. At least I could talk to him about things like that, laugh with him about it.

Could I do that with them?

Maybe. I think. But I was still nervous about just throwing myself into something knew. Like the second I said, _let's do this_ , I'd regret it, but I'd be chin deep in wet cement by then. Unable to move, and feeling buried was the thing I hated most in the world.

I turned on my side, gazing into Bakura's eyes. "Do you think I should just ask Ryou out on a date?"

"Marik-"

"I know. I know. You're biased toward this question."

"Do _you_ think you should ask Ryou out on a date? Do you want to date him?"

I really hated how serious Bakura was looking at me in that moment. I'd feel so much better about everything if he was spouting off lame-ass puns and sex jokes. Seeing him be reasonable about something, though, it made the situation seem _so grave_. Like I was bound to fuck up no matter what I did. I raked my fingers through my own hair.

"I mean… that was the _body_ that hooked me when we first met, but it was your _personality_ that reeled me in. All obvious jokes about you having a good personality aside... it makes this… _so fucking confusing_. I think, maybe if Ryou and I could hang out alone? To try and see how I feel when it's just him? It would help a lot with the struggle that's been going on inside my brain these last couple of weeks."

"What about Kek?"

"If Kek's there, it'll be _them_ , and not Ryou. Kek's… easier. I don't know how to explain it. Our scars match, and that's… that's something."

"Yeah. I understand." Bakura traced five points on his chest, as if he thought there should be scars there.

"I think I could love Kek," I whispered to the ceiling.

I wasn't sure two weeks was enough to say something like that. Didn't seem like it. But no matter how slowly I was _trying_ to go through this, my brain just didn't want to cooperate. And maybe there wasn't a slow enough option. The more I thought about this, the more I realized one could spend their entire lives learning how to be in love- Bakura taught me that every day we spent together.

Fuck. Mortals died so soon and had to do things too fast. I should have killed Atem and made myself a god when I had the chance in Battle City. The gods were just going to bring him back anyway, at least Kek and I could have grabbed the god cards and lived like kings. Not that it would have worked that way, but it was fun to day dream like it could have been that easy. I laughed a little at myself for being ridiculous.

"What?" Bakura asked.

"I was thinking that I should have killed the Pharaoh in Battle City instead of forfeiting my game."

"Gods, Marik. Please talk some more of that dirty shit in bed. You really know what to say to get me off."

Bakura moaned so earnestly, that I almost thought he was serious, but then we both burst into loud, snorting laughter. Bakura grabbed my hand and kissed each of my knuckles.

"How about this. How about Kek and I go out with his friends. I think there's a bout on TV in about two weeks, so they'll all want to go to a bar and watch it. That way, you and Ryou can talk for a night. Don't call it a date, just spend some time alone with him."

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds good. Then there won't be any pressure to make a decision afterward if I need to think about it for a night or two."

"And the fight's not for another two weeks, which gives you some more time to think in general."

"Thanks Bakura." I dragged my fingers down his cheek. "You're pretty sexy when you're coming up with great plans."

"Am I?" Bakura lidded his eyes, knowing exactly how he was looking at me and what that look did to me. "How about, while we wait to enact my plan, I work on making your dreams come true?" He rolled over so that he was hovering over me. Bending low, he kissed down my sternum and stomach, raising up for a moment to add. "Uh, I mean, at least partly true."

I ignored the last part because I wasn't worried about it. I sucked in a shallow breath, my eyes rolling back into my head as I arched high. Bakura returned to kissing my skin and I arched up again for him.

"Bakura, Bakura yes. Bakura please. Gods, Bakura. Bakura don't stop."

"That's what I like to hear- my name mixed with begging." Bakura chuckled as he grabbed my cock and blew on the tip.

I grunted, and squirmed, and held my breath as I waited for that first phenomenal shock of his tongue against my burning skin, but Bakura kept blowing, enjoying his teasing too much to give into me. Normally I could play this game, and play it much better than Bakura, but I was _not_ in the mood that morning. I tossed my head back, arching yet again.

"Bakura! Bakura, please!"

Without another word, Bakura dropped his mouth down on my cock. A shrill vowel of sound poured from between my lips, following by a low, rusty moan. I hitched up my hips with a slow, consistent rhythm. My fingers tangled into his already-messy hair.

"Gods Bakura, yes. Gods Bakura, yes. Yes!"

He managed to break free despite the grip I had on this head. I whined, shameless in my desperation because I _wanted_ it, and if he didn't give it to me I felt like I was going to split in half. Bakura pushed my legs further apart and slipped a pillow below my hips. I followed along because I wanted his mouth back on my cock. I wasn't expecting the warm, tingling thrill of his tongue against my asshole instead.

" _Oh fuck!_ " I shrieked, gasping afterward. "Holy shit, Bakura! Fuck!"

Every flick of Bakura's tongue made me call out, quick like gunfire. My cock wept precum as it twitched in the air, waiting for Bakura's mouth again. He waited a few minutes before he nibbled up my thigh and licked the precum away from my tip. Bakura returned back to the blowjob and I was _gone_. Gone, so fucking gone. Bakura's mouth was warm, his lips, squeezed just right around my cock.

"Gods-" I sang and then came. Bakura sucked, and sucked, and swallowed, dropping down to kiss my thighs as I caught my breath. I sighed, eyes closed. "I don't even think I can move right now."

"How's your back?"

"Lovely." I snorted, a half-smile on my face as I rested my cheek against the pillow with a grin on my face. "Everything is lovely right now. Gods… I feel so damn good right now."

I shivered as Bakura kissed his way back up my body so he could lie beside me. I slit both eyes open and saw his face grinning at me. It reminded me of the look he wore in my dream. I pushed myself up to my knees, wobbly and shaky, but I managed, and rolled Bakura so that he was laying onto his stomach. I kissed along his shoulders, grabbing his ass with my right hand.

"Don't move," I demanded as I crawled toward the nightstand where we kept the lube. On the spur of the moment, I also grabbed a string of anal beads we'd bought the week prior.

When I returned, I grabbed Bakura's ass, and he pushed it higher into the air. Spreading his cheeks apart, I dipped between and started to flick my tongue up and down. I was more than happy to hear the little squeals of pleasure from Bakura's mouth that were as desperate and needy as mine had been. I kept flicking, and swirled my tongue in broad circles.

" _Aaaaaaah!_ " Bakura wailed.

"Mmmm-hmmmm." I moaned right against his asshole.

Bakura hitched back, pushing his ass up to my face as he tried to get more stimulation. I laughed, grabbed the lube, and coated my fingers before slipping two inside him. I eased in and out until he was clenching my fingers with his flesh and then I the anal beads, popping them in one by one. Bakura _ah'_ ed each time I snuck a new bead inside of him.

"Flip over," I ordered, and he spun onto his back. He hooked his arms around his thighs and pulling them wide open to give me room.

I grabbed his cock, licking up and down his shaft and then around the tip. Bakura's ah's drew out long and loud. I squeezed his shaft in my fist, sliding up and down as I stroked him and flicked my tongue along the slit in his cockhead. I could tell he was thoroughly out of his mind by this point so I sealed my lips around him and sucked, and sucked, and sucked, until he was screaming my name. I pulled the beads out right as he came, shocked at how much there was to swallow. Drying my lips, I popped back up and saw Bakura's eyes were shiny, on the verge of tearing up.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

" _Uh-huh_ ," he sighed and nodded his head.

I exhaled in relief, realizing it'd just been that good. I kissed Bakura's sternum, over his heart, and smiled.

"I want to go get coffee."

"The hotel has coffee?" Bakura tilted his head, trying to understand the statement.

I shook my head at him. "No, I want to go _get_ coffee, and then walk to the park." I started laughing. "I want to sit on the grass and feed ducks in a pond."

"Sure." Bakura grinned.

"That easy?" I leaned over and rubbed our noses together. "Shouldn't you be arguing with me at least a little?"

"After the treatment you just gave me? Hell no, I'm not going to argue. We can go to the park, feed the ducks, get you a pony, ride into the sunset together, whatever the fuck you want."

We were laughing again. It was too easy to break into laughter when Bakura was talking.

"I love you," I whispered once I could breathe again after all the laughter.

Bakura's laughter strangled in his throat and his face softened as he looked up at me. I bent down, grabbing his face and kissing him. Then I kinda thought of what we'd been doing moments beforehand, and he must have had the same thought because we broke into another round of chest-heaving, hiccuping laughter.

We were still snickering by the time we made it to the shower to get ready for our coffee/park date.


	62. Ryou 17

I jogged out of the store. Three people called in- typical weekend nonsense- and I'd been stuck pulling a surprise double shift. Things had gotten as bad as they'd been right when everyone came back. I was having to fight tooth and nail for my days off, and even when I was there, they kept having me stay late or come in early. I was exhausted, and I missed Kek. The sky was bright, and sunny, and beautiful. It was a sky that made you smile and hum to yourself as you almost bounced rather than walked down the street, but I was short-tempered as I marched down the sidewalk with my hands crammed in the pockets of Bakura's red hoodie.

I stole it. He left it over during the last gaming night and it smelled like him so I'd been wearing it all week long. I didn't feel bad, either. Not one bit. He used to wear my body all the time. Fuck Bakura. My hoodie.

My phone beeped. I pulled it out, expecting Kek since I was just about to let him know I was on my way home, but it was Marik.

 _Heard you're still at work. Want us to move gaming to tomorrow night?_

No, I didn't want to move the gaming night. The thought of RPG'ing until I passed out against the table was the only thing keeping me going through the hell shift I just survived.

 _Please don't cancel. I'm tired, but I look forward to playing each week!_

I sent Kek a quick kissy face and _omwh_ while I waited for Marik's reply.

 _Want us to at least bring some dinner over?_

I started typing that they didn't have to, but Marik had already told me three times to stop treating him like a house guest. So, I deleted my first response and swapped it with;

 _It'd be great if you did. I'm exhausted!_

 _Are you sure you want to play?_

Now Marik was being the overly polite one.

 _Yes!_

 _Alright, if you're sure._

 _Why would I turn down dinner and gaming?_

I was distracted with my phone when I heard an engine roar and someone whistle. I looked up, frowning that someone would be so forward, but the my lips curved up as I saw Kek on his new motorcycle holding out my helmet that Marik had bought- the present he'd promised me as a thank you for the Halva. I swung behind Kek, fastening my helmet and resting my feet on the pegs. It only took two minutes for us to get home by bike and I waited until we were walking upstairs to thank Kek.

"That was sweet."

"Sweet nothing. I fucking missed you all day. It pisses me off when we can't walk home together."

"Yeah, I'm sorry." I set the helmet in the closet and then face planted into the couch.

Kek picked me up and sat down, letting me lay in his lap. "You don't have to apologize. It's your stupid job that I'm mad at."

"Me too," I agreed.

The doorbell rang, seven times, and I rolled my eyes and Kek went to go let Marik and Bakura in. I stretched out on the couch, too tired to move.

"Look what I found, Ryou. Stray scoundrels. Can I keep them?" Kek asked, and arm slung around each of their shoulders as he led them into the living room.

"I don't know. That one looks like he sheds." I smiled at Bakura.

"You're right, I do."

The kittens all ran into the living room. Not so much because they loved any of us, and more because they could smell my chicken tenders. Asshole was particularly fond of creating elaborate schemes to steal them and then drag them under the couch so he and the others could feast.

"I bought the kittens a four pack this time," Marik said.

"I don't think cats are suppose to eat chicken strips." I pushed myself to sitting, although I really could have stayed laying down until Monday when I had to go back to work again.

"I don't think anyone should eat them." Bakura shrugged. "They're nothing like the food I used to eat. But who cares? Can't be any less healthy than Shadow Magic."

"And it'll keep them from stealing our food." Marik dropped one of the chicken tenders onto the carpet.

Asshole snatched it and took it to _The Shadow Realm_. Which was the nickname we'd given to beneath the couch, where they hoarded all their toys and sometimes snacks. Once they were hidden, Marik plopped down on the couch while Bakura and Kek dropped to the floor in front of us. Marik and Bakura passed around bags until we all had our food and I tore into my fries, starving. They gave me two lunch breaks, but they'd both been early.

"Try to breathe while you eat," Bakura teased.

I flipped him off, and Bakura burst into laughter.

"Oh my goodness, Ryou! Where did you ever learn such a vulgar gesture?"

"Don't teach Bakura rude gestures, Ryou. You know how innocent and impressionable he is." Marik winked.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to show more consideration for Bakura's innocence from now on."

The banter carried on throughout dinner. When we saw Asshole trying to creep around the couch from the side for a sneak attack, Marik left another chicken strip offering. It was immediately accepted and sent to the Shadow Realm.

"Okay, you're fed. Hurry up to the table so we can game." Bakura tugged at my sleeve.

I mussed up his ashy-white hair, but it only made him headbutt my shoulder. Kek finally lifted me up and carried me bridal style to the kitchen table where he had everything set up. I was screaming with laughter by the time he set me down into the chair. Our eyes caught, and I felt my cheeks heat up as he knelt in front of me and brushed our lips together.

"I haven't been able to do that since we left the house this morning."

"It has been too long." I smiled at him, sneaking in a second kiss.

Bakura snorted and I stuck my tongue out at him. As if I was about to be sympathetic that I wasn't giving him any kisses. Okay, maybe I was a little sympathetic, but I wasn't going to encourage him. We'd spent weeks building up a good and proper friendship with Marik, and I was too tired for drama and completely, utterly, wholly, fully, and any other fancy adverb I could think of ly cried out. _No more tears, we have conversations and play RPGs like men._

Or androgynous fairies, in Kek's case.

"Our adventure last ended with the tragic-"

"And gruesome," Kek interrupted.

"And gruesome death of your teammate. After the mermaids tore him limb from limb, stripping the flesh off of his bones and dyeing their tank red with his blood, the guards came and threw you both into prison after stripping you of all your gear- yes Bakura even your hidden knife in your boot."

"But what about my-"

"That one, too. And the other one, and the one on your inner thigh that you thought I didn't know about, but I saw you drawing a crude doodle of it on your character sheet."

"Well godsdammit."

"I'm going to search-"

"You don't see anything. It's stones, and hay, and a iron bar door in front of you."

"Well let me _roll_ first." Marik frowned.

"Doesn't matter," I told him. "You won't see anything. There's nothing to see."

"I take a nap." Bakura leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. He propped his feet in Marik's lap.

"Why would you sleep? We need to escape." Marik slapped at Bakura's feet, but not enough to really knock them down.

"Nah, Ryou wants us to wait, and I can tell he's in a mood from working over time, so we better just wait."

"I am not in a mood," I snapped, and then realized that I was in a mood.

My cheeks burned, but I couldn't take back my tone. Everyone else thought it was funny though and chuckled. That made me feel better. I always worried around Yugi and the gang. They tended to look nervous when I got even the lightest off-tempered. But then again, I should know that my present company would be more resilient to clipped words.

"Anyway, someone runs by your cell. They're small, a little shorter than a halfling, and garbed in in a pink suite." Ryou set down a pixie with short, pale pink hair and wings that matched their suit and tie.

"I call out and ask her for help."

"You're just going to call out to a random stranger-"

"You're asleep so you can't lecture me," Marik interrupted.

"I don't have a key, if that's what you're asking for." Kek said to derailed the soon-to-be argument between Marik and Bakura.

"Oh, this is your new character?" Marik asked. "It doesn't look anything like you."

"Marik, you're supposed to be in character. Talk to the fairy, not Kek." I tapped the tile set where their figures stood to bring Marik's attention back to the game.

"Sorry, what's your name?"

"Rory."

"I know the guards have the keys, but if you could do anything. Maybe find our stuff? We have lock picks and-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll see what I can do." Kek pulled out his phone and texted me. _Tell them I run off._

"Rory runs out of sight of your cell, leaving you both alone again."

"To get help?" Marik asked.

"I don't know yet. You'll have to wait and see," I answered honestly while getting another text from Kek.

 _I want to listen at the door at the end of the dungeon._

I rolled. _You hear faint shuffling._

 _Fuck it, I'll go inside._

 _There's a guard. He pulls out his sword and shouts for you to freeze._

 _I want to seduce him and steal the keys._

"Already?" I shouted it louder than I had intended.

"Am I awake yet? Because I want to know what's going on." Bakura sat up in his chair.

"Just a moment. Rory isn't in your party, so their actions are hidden to you right now. I'll get back to your part of the game in a moment."

"Then my character is pacing and cursing under his breath." Marik scowled.

"Roll for persuasion, Kek."

He rolled a 20, and since we were playing Monster World (slightly modified) and not D&D, a 20 was good enough to convince the guard, but not the same as a supercritical roll.

 _Well, that's a success. How much should I describe of this?_

 _Depends on how mad you want Marik to get for having to wait._

"Are you two sexting in the middle of a game?" Bakura narrowed his eyes.

"Well, it _would_ be in character." Kek snickered.

"Why? What are you?" Marik snatched Kek's character sheet. "Bard? That wasn't on the list."

"Nice." Bakura started laughing, leaning back in his chair again. "Don't worry, Marik. We'll be free in a few minutes."

"Why?"

Bakura gestured for Marik to wait a moment. I took the time to continue with the game.

"Okay, now roll for endurance."

That time Kek rolled a 7, which was much better. I texted the response to him.

 _Suffice to say that by the time you're done with him he's asleep, dreaming of proposing, and missing his keys._

 _Great, I'm going to go back and dangle the keys in front of Marik._

"The pixie, Rory returns holding up the keys to your cell- just out of your reach."

"We can pay you, but not until you let us out and we find our stuff."

"I don't want money."

"I want to seduce the bard!" Bakura smacked his palms on the table.

"Bakura, no." I frowned.

"Bakura yes!"

"You don't even like women." Marik wrinkled his face.

"We're role playing. I could be bi." Bakura stuck out his tongue.

"Not even in a fantasy game would I believe that." Marik stuck his tongue out to mirror Bakura.

"Who said I'm female?" Kek smirked. "I'm a magical construct. A wizard made me out of magic to be his alchemy assistant."

"I get what you're implying, but then how did you seduce the guard to get the dungeon key?" Bakura asked.

"Who said I seduced him? I could have slit his throat."

Bakura gave Kek "a look" and Kek laughed. "Okay, I seduced him, but you're just going to have to use your imagination because I don't kiss and tell."

"Ryou-"

"Fine, Bakura, fine. Roll for persuasion."

"Okay." Bakura licked his lips, a very specific smile lit up his face.

"I swear to the gods, Bakura. Throw that die properly or I'll do something worse than death to you before we finish playing tonight."

"I think it'll be worth it."

"Then try me." I crossed my arms across my chest, watching his wrist to see if he cheated the roll or not.

"Fine. Fine. Fine. You're not fun, Ryou." Bakura rolled a 63. "Fucking dammit. This is crap!"

"Ha! You suck!" Kek stuck out his long tongue at Bakura.

"Rory thought you were joking, but it was at least a funny joke." I sighed, glad that things didn't get crazy on our very first playthrough.

"That's _exactly_ what I thought." Kek laughed.

"Now that Bakura's done being a idiot as usual. I would like to use persuasion to _reasonably_ talk Rory into giving us the key." Marik rolled a 17.

"You can have the key if you let me go with you once you escape," Kek answered on his own.

We didn't exactly have this scripted, but we did talk about how Rory was going to integrate into the party. Kek actually had an extensive back story to go with his new character. Reading it all week long was fun to read, and I have a feeling Kek was having too much fun writing it as well. He was already writing a side story separate from the campaign about Rory seducing both a stable boy and a merchant's oldest son while convincing them to abscond with the pixie to adventure.

"Fair enough. Now hurry up and let us out." Marik sighed when Rory's demands were easy enough to fulfill.

They found their stuff back in the warden's office. He was still sleeping. Bakua fumbled a sneak attempt, and I had to roll to see if the warden woke up, but he was gone to the world (I rolled an 84), so they didn't get caught. Being a bard, a healer, and a thief, there was a lot of sneaking around. They had a few battles, but those were won with sneak attacks and strategic use of spells more than with anyone's strength. And yes, of course, Kek managed to seduce the guards- both of them at once- and kept them distracted enough for Bakura and Marik to escape.

As funny as the gameplay became with Rory flirting with everyone while Bakura robbed them blind (and Marik healing them when they failed), my favorite part of the evening was at the end when they made it to the next village and found an inn. Rory was going to find a companion for the night, but Marik insisted Rory stay with them. It wasn't so much _what_ Marik said, but _how_. Like he wanted to make sure Rory was safe for the night and therefore couldn't go off without them. I don't know why, but something in Marik's tone plucked at my heart strings during that scene.

At the end we were yawning into our hands.

"What time is it?" Marik asked as he looked at his phone. "Shit. It's 4am. No wonder I feel like a zombie."

"You can stay the night." Kek yawned. "The couch is yours."

I looked at Kek as he said it. I could see on his face that he said it _intentionally_. I slipped my hand under the table and held his, hoping Marik and Bakura were too tired to noticed the sad look we exchanged at that moment.

"Your call, Marik," Bakura said.

"Let's stay. I miss Ducati and Diabound snuggling by our feet."

"Yeah, great, they can snuggle _someone else's feet for a night_." Kek snorted.

"I'll go find sleep clothes you guys can borrow."

I went into the bedroom. The clothes would be a little too big for them, but since they were just sleeping in them I wasn't concerned. I had an outfit for each of them folded on the bed when Malik walked into the room.

"Seeing the clothes on the bed like this reminds me of a dream I once had."

"About laundry?"

"We were all packing to go on a trip together."

"That sounds like a nice dream." I handed Malik a set of Kek's clothes. "I can't remember the last time I went on a real- oh, nevermind."

I winced at myself. Of course I remember my last trip. It was Egypt. It was the Ceremonial Duel.

"Yeah." Marik sighed, understanding. "So why did you let Kek pick such an odd character?"

"Well, Kek hasn't been alive for very long." I sat on the bed, holding Bakura's clothes. Malik sat down beside me, watching me as I spoke. "He wanted to play with a few different concepts by acting them out with RP character, and I thought it was cool. I know bards aren't in Monster World, and I had to fudge some things for a pixie construct to be a playable race, but I remember the first day Kek came back. When he didn't even have a name, and he kept staring at his hands like he wasn't even sure what to _do_ with them. I told him it was his chance to reroll a new character that day, and that's what he did. But some things he just settled into a default and now he's thinking more about them, so anything I can do to help him find out who he wants to be as _Kek_ , I'll do."

Marik grabbed my hand. I'd say he was squeezing it, but he was crushing it and his eyes were glassy. My mouth dropped a little. I didn't think I had said anything that'd make Marik emotional.

"Please don't cry. Everyone's cried so much already."

"I'm not." Marik had to clear his throat when he spoke because his voice cracked. "I'm just really glad you were here for them when I wasn't."

"I'm glad they were here for _me_. I was very lonely when they came back." I smiled, and it was tired, yes, and still a little haunted with unrequited love, but it was a real smile all the same. "But now I'm very happy."

"Um…" Marik's fingers toyed with my knuckles for a moment, but he seemed to realize what he was doing and pulled away, fidgeting with the gold at his wrists instead. "I'm not sure if Bakura has talked to Kek yet or not, but he wanted them to go and watch the next fight?"

"Oh yeah, they usually do. I always went and gamed with Yugi and the others on those nights."

"Yeah, well, instead of that. I was thinking..." Marik shrugged. "Maybe I could come over here instead? I'm not… I don't want to see Atem. He's back. It's fine. I don't care." Marik shook his head, his expression stressed.

"You coming over would be great. I'll make all sorts of snacks for us to eat, and we can watch Willow." I grabbed his hand again, lacing our fingers together. I noticed that Marik liked physical comfort, so I held his hand with both of mine to reassure him. "And we won't tell Bakura until after you've already seen it."

"Oh, the movie he stole my love note from. I'd forgotten." Marik's smile returned. "That's the perfect plan, Ryou."

"Yeah, well, you know, I can conspire just like the rest of you." I giggled.


	63. Bakura 14

I woke up with two kittens curled on top of my feet, one balancing on my hip, and I'm pretty sure it was Hamyaa trying to eat my hair. I shoved him away, and the movement startled Diabound VII, which made her claws sink into my side so she could keep her balance.

"Morning," Marik exhaled in a half-asleep voice.

"Why am I the only one getting swarmed?"

"It's because you're so damn cuddly." Marik flipped on his other side and pressed our bodies a little closer together.

"Diabound," I hissed when I felt her claws sink into my hip again. She jumped down into the space between my and Marik's legs and formed into a ball.

A few minutes latter, Kek shuffled down the hallway, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. All four cats raced toward him, mewling and running figure-eights around his feet and ankles.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I could feed you quicker if you got the fuck out the way- Asshole!"

Hamyaa climbed up Kek's sweatpants. He grabbed the kitten by the scruff of the neck and dropped him to the floor, but Hamyaa leapt back to Kek's leg and clung to him.

"Ha! I finally get a break. They've been using me as furniture all morning long."

"I know. I was enjoying the peace and quiet." Kek continued to walk one akward step at a time to prevent tripping over any of the little bodies or tails that kept slipping beneath his feet. Hamyaa tried to climb up Kek's bare back. Kek cackled at the claws as he snatched the kitten and held him up in the air. "I swear to the gods, Asshole. Why are you like this?"

He plopped the kitten on top of his head. Hamyaa peaked above the spikes and enjoyed the ride to the kitchen from the higher view.

"It's karma." Marik snickered.

Kek grunted at Marik's comment with a tone that suggested that they shouldn't talk until Kek had some coffee. Thinking about it, I wanted some coffee as well. I kissed Marik's shoulder and vaulted over him, beating Kek to the kitchen door and holding it open so Kek and his furry caravan could get through.

"They definitely know who their meal ticket is."

"I should eat them. Kittens are made out of protein, right?"

"I think cats are made out of fur and magic." I grabbed the coffee while Kek grabbed a bag of kibble.

"Magic is probably a carbohydrate, so I guess I'll let them live." Kek filled up four small bowls and was free to walk back to the cupboard to put away the food without kittens tripping him up.

He stood beside me, and we watched the coffee drip into the pot for a moment without speaking. He bumped into my shoulder, grinning as I had to catch my balance. I tried to bump him back, but he was too solid to really move.

"Damn bastard, don't be so big and strong. I can't knock you over." I slammed into him harder, but he only teetered.

"Get stronger then."

"The fuck you think this is, Dragon Ball Z?"

"If it was, I know exactly what I'd wish for." Kek propped both elbows onto the counter, resting his chin against his fists as he watched the last of the coffee brew.

"Is it a date with me?" I grinned, leaning on my side to get in his line of sight.

"Something like that." He mimicked my grin.

"I don't know about the Dragon Balls, but maybe you _should_ wish for a date with me. Who knows? It might come true."

"Bakura, are you trying to take me out somewhere?"

"Well there's a fight on television the weekend after next, right? And we always go together."

"Yeah, we always went together. Have you talked to Marik about it?"

"I am a thief and a stealer of souls, not a bitch and a breaker of homes- of course I spoke to Marik first. Actually, it's because of him that we're going. He wants to hang out with Ryou, and I'm getting us out of their hair so they can have some one-on-one time."

"Wait, he wants to spend time with Ryou?" Kek stood up. "Are they going out on a date too?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Not exactly, but maybe sorta like… a pre-date? Chill time to see if maybe he'd want to go on a date? I suggested he not call it a date, and he thought that was a good idea so he didn't feel forced to make any big decisions afterward."

"I'm still really excited for them." Kek pressed both hands over his mouth, as if he were holding in a scream.

"Yeah." I found myself laughing. It kinda was exciting to think about. I'd been trying _not_ to think about it for that reason.

Marik pushed into the kitchen with a yawn. "Why are you two in such a good mood when the coffee pot's still not full?"

"Bakura told me we're going out to watch the game in a few weeks."

Marik smiled at that. "Yeah, I already told Ryou and we're going to stay here and watch a movie or two that night."

"Watching movies with Ryou is a blast, just don't let Hamyaa jump into the popcorn- he will dive-bomb it if he gets a chance."

"Thanks for the warning." Marik grabbed the pot of coffee and stole the first cup for himself.

I poured one for myself one next, looking around the kitchen. "Is Ryou not up yet?"

"No, and I'm not waking him up. Cook your own damn breakfast. He's been working too much lately and deserves to sleep in on his only day off."

Marik started laughing. "Hey, you guys want revenge?"

"Yes. Always. I don't even need context. Gimme." I smacked the table before Marik had a chance to explain himself.

"I don't know… the last time I tried to do something in the name of vengeance- I ended up having sex with Bakura." Kek blew me a kiss.

 _I assure you I did not blush at his flirty nonsense!_

Not that he would be able to see it thanks to me being in my original body- but I didn't do it anyway, so -

The more I thought of it, the more I realized that Kek actually made a pretty good bard.

"Well, this sort of involves getting into bed with Ryou, so close, right?"

"We're getting into bed with Ryou? Okay, I like this plan so far." Kek chugged his coffee and stood up.

"I mean to record him on one of our cellphones." Marik smacked his forehead. "Since he's always filming everyone else."

"That's a pretty funny idea. Let's drop kittens on top of him." I grinned.

"Bakura, if you drop a kitten onto Ryou's head and he wakes up in a bad mood, I'm going to hit you upside the head with a chair."

"Let's just go get breakfast and put that next to him so he can wake up to food. That seems like something he'd enjoy," Malik said.

"Marik's idea is better." Kek stuck his tongue out at me. I pretended to snap at it with his teeth, but that only made him wiggle it and we all started laughing.

I finished my coffee and changed back into my clothes before we headed out. Marik made us stop at a pharmacy for overnight toiletries that we could keep at Kek and Ryou's place for the next time we stayed over after gaming. It felt weird to buy a toothbrush to keep at my own apartment for when I was a guest there, but what the hell, my life has always been weird.

Domino is not the best place for take-home restaurant breakfast, but we did find a bakery that sold muffins and cinnamons rolls. We loaded up a box and left the store satisfied with what we'd chosen.

"God, it's like you guys personally hate me." Kek inhaled the scent of cinnamon rolls and then sighed. "I have to go home and eat oatmeal."

"Just eat one," Marik said.

"Just eat one steak with Bakura for dinner tonight." Kek scowled.

"That's not the same."

"Because the steak has better macros?" Kek raised an eyebrow, but his sardonic question went right over Marik's head. "Anyway, I want to stop at the flower shop."

"So you can eat the flowers instead?" I asked.

"Not enough protein."

We detoured to the flower shop and Kek bought three dozen white roses for Ryou- which was all they had. And I was kinda pissed off because watching him get giddy about surrounding Ryou in roses like some fucking sleeping fairy tale princess was making me want to go buy Marik four dozen flowers just to be an even bigger show-off. Schemes to possibly revisit later.

Kek's excitement was contagious, and by the time we all entered the apartment, we were in fit of hushed giggles. I think everyone wanted to see Ryou's face when he opened his eyes and saw roses and cinnamon rolls. What better way to wake up after a week of overtime?

We tiptoed down the hallway and peaked into the room. Jason was sleeping next to him, almost as if to guard him. Ducati and Daibound were sitting at the foot of the bed and grooming each other. Ryou was oblivious to the entire world.

Marik grabbed his phone and started the recorder. I waited for Kek to arrange the flowers. He'd ordered them loose to make it easier to surround Ryou with them. He lifted each one out of the box, careful of the thorns, and arranged them in a circle around Ryou's curled figure. Then I opened the box of baked goods and placed it close enough to Ryou's face that he'd be able to smell the cinnamon.

We stepped back and watched… and watched… and… watched…

" _Wake up, asshole_." It was a whisper, although a loud one.

"Bakura." Kek smacked my shoulder.

"Come on, we can't wait on him forever."

"Bakura has a point. The video won't really work unless he wakes up."

"Go kiss him awake," I said. "That's how they always wake up the cursed princess in the movies."

"You and your fucking rom-com fantasies, Bakura." Kek shook his head.

"You're the one that made a magic circle of flowers for him."

"Will you two shut up. One of you two go kiss him awake before I go and do it myself."

Kek and I both grinned at that, but Kek was the one to turn toward Marik. "I'm calling your bluff."

"What?" Malik looked instantly guilty the moment Kek said it.

"I'm calling your bluff. Go kiss him yourself."

"That would be a little hypocritical of me."

"Don't say it if you don't mean it, then."

"Okay, I was bluffing." Marik focused on his camera frame instead of us. "I thought it'd make you hurry up if I said that."

"Surely that was the only reason and nothing else." Kek snorted half a laugh as he walked to the bed. Once he reached it, he bent down and stole a soft, sweet kiss from Ryou's lips. The perfect fairy tale kiss. We couldn't have staged it better.

Which is why is was so _fucking hilarious_ when Ryou shoved Kek's face away and rolled over to his other side, barely avoiding the wall of roses around him.

Jason ran off at the movement. He knew it was time to bail for safety reasons, and the other two followed him under the bed. I laughed so hard I had to brace my hands onto my knees. Marik was pressed against the wall, trying to hold up his phone, but near doubled over with laughter himself.

"Ha, ha. It's a fucking laugh-riot." Kek scowled.

"Go away," Ryou growled as he shoved his pillow over his head.

"Get up! I'm trying to be romantic!" Kek shouted at him.

"I don't want to romance- I want to sleep." Ryou's voice was still sleep-clogged and temperamental. "And take those other two laughing idiots with you. You three are like the damn hyenas from the Lion King."

"Did he just drag all of us at once?" Malik's mouth dropped, but he looked a little delighted. I realized that Marik had never seen just how brutal Ryou could get when you fucked with either his food or his sleep.

"Oh yeah, you think he's a little cream puff and- well, yeah, he is, but get him on the wrong side of the bed and he's as insufferable as Bakura."

"You two really don't know how to do anything, do you?" Marik laughed as he walked up to the bed. He took one of the rose stems between his fingers and tickled the bottom of Ryou's foot.

Ryou sat up, slamming his pillow into his lap. "Bakura! I will stab you with a rusty- oh, good morning, Marik. I'm sorry for being rude."

I was laughing my ass off but Ryou was blushing, embarrassed as he gave a little bow of apology to Malik. I don't think Ryou realized how much he code-switched around Marik.

"What about being rude to me?" Kek pretended to pout.

"I can apologize to you later." Ryou laughed, then gasped as he woke up enough to see the bed around him. "Kek, you bought me flowers?"

"The other two laughing idiots brought you breakfast, but the flowers were my idea."

"This is so nice." Ryou rubbed his eyes.

"Don't cry-" we all managed to shout at the same time as we swarmed the bed.

"Don't worry. I'm just really happy right now." Ryou laughed, even as he kept rubbing his eyes. "They're so beautiful." Ryou grabbed a rose and brought it up to his nose to sniff it. Then he grabbed a cinnamon roll. "This breakfast looks delicious!"

"Can I have a bite or am I still in trouble?" Kek leaned over the rose barrier protecting Ryou and brushed his nose against Ryou's.

"Calories don't count when you share, right?" Ryou held out the roll for Kek.

"Pretty sure that's true."

Kek took an enormous bite, but Ryou only laughed and wiped the excess icing off of Kek's mouth so he could suck it off of his own finger.

"And cut." Marik snapped his phone shut and stuck it into his pocket. "That turned out better than I expected."

"You were recording all that?" Ryou laughed. "I guess I deserve that, don't I?"

"We thought we should get back at you for all your home movies." I smirked.

"We nothing, it was _my_ brilliant idea."

"Well, I wouldn't start a game I'm not willing to play, so I don't really mind. I'm still sorry for calling you guys idiots. Here, help me gather up these flowers and we can eat the pastries together."

Kek made instant oatmeal while I grabbed some vases we had stashed in the kitchen. Malik made a fresh pot of coffee and we all ended up sitting in a circle on the bed and talking as we ate our improv breakfast and held our coffee cups in our hands.


	64. Kek 15

I had the perfect blend of casual and hot-as-fuck going for me. Old, ripped jeans I'd bought at a thrift store when I first started making my own money. Dark tank and hoodie. Silver studded earrings and choker. Extra, extra eyeliner done not-quite like Marik's kohl, but close enough to look damn good on me.

The point of all this, of course, was to make Bakura suffer. At least a little. That fucker needed to _pine_. Bonus points if I can get Marik to suffer a little and pine a bit as well.

I'd been looking forward to this night for two weeks since Bakura said he wanted to go. Not just because I was going to get to hang out with Bakura- something I missed doing far more than I ever would have guessed I would- but because Marik and Ryou were going to be together while we were gone. Life since he'd gotten to Domino had been nothing but rapids, but (even after hitting some huge rocks) it didn't seem like any of our oars had snapped, maybe we'd get through all this without our little raft sinking? I knew Marik well enough to know that he'd have no problem taking to first flight back to Luxor if that's where he wanted to be. The fact that he was still in Domino, and still coming over to visit, _meant something_. It was a matter of waiting on Marik to figure that out.

We just had one slight problem. Ryou was currently curled up in my lap. Asleep. They were supposed to be here in 15 minutes and Ryou hadn't even managed to brush his hair let alone change into clothes. He was currently wearing pajamas. Not a matching set, mind you. He had on flannel bottoms and a stripped top and giant Pikachu slippers. Which wasn't the point. I didn't care what clothes Ryou had on. The point was that it showed how tired Ryou was, and I hated that he let his manager work him that much. It pissed me off in a dangerous way.

"Ryou," I whispered into his hair.

"Hmph."

"Ryou."

"Just ten more and I'll get ready."

"I don't have to go," I said. I wanted to go. I'd been looking forward to the fight, but I was also willing to tell Bakura and Marik to go home so Ryou and I could just go to bed. He clearly needed it.

"No way." Ryou yawned, trying to wake himself up.

"It's okay. We can just stay in tonight."

"I am staying in tonight." Ryou yawned again and stretched his arms up over his head. "I'm just going to be watching a movie. It's not like you have to stay and guard me."

"I'm worried about you in general. You've been working way too much."

"This happens all the time."

"Not anymore it doesn't. I've been trying to sit back and let you run your own life, but look at you? You're completely out of it. If you text me Monday and say you're staying late. I will walk into the store and physically carry you away."

"Okay, okay. I promise I'll get off on time Monday." Ryou laughed. "I just feel so bad when they ask me to stay that I always agree."

"You can't carry the entire store on your back."

Ryou hummed in agreement, but then rested his head back on my chest and dozed again. I sat there for a few minutes, kissing the crown of his head and petting his hair. I imagined how he'd look, when he was old. There weren't any photos of his family that I could see around the house. He kept them in albums in the closet, and I never asked to see them because I got the sense that they made him sad.

Growing older frightened me. Not because I feared death- I'd seen the gods- and not because I was worried about _being_ old. I just didn't want to see _him_ when I looked in the mirror years from now. Maybe I'd cut my hair and dye it pink like Rory's, or have Bakura braid it into rows all the time. I hoped, by the time we were that age, Ryou's face was crinkled with laugh lines around his eyes and not worry creases on his brow. I wanted him to be happy.

I had to let go of my precious, sleeping bundle when Marik and Bakura knocked on the door.

Damn if they didn't play the hot-as-fuck game as good as I did.

Marik wore his new coat. It wasn't cold enough outside to warrant fur. He did it because he looked good in it. His hair feathered down to the fur collar. The colors blended in together like an ombre of fall leaves descending down a mountainside. He wore extra gold, and a thick layer of kohl. Bakura looked no less grand though, like me, he went a more casual route. He had on his red hoodie and blue jeans that screamed _I'm an unrepentant bottom- please reward me for it._

Those jeans were going to be the death of me after a few sake bombs.

"Here. Let me." I took Marik's coat off, winking at him as I stored it in the closet.

"Is… Ryou asleep?" Marik laughed as he stared at the couch.

"Uh, yeah." I scratched the back of my head. "He insisted we didn't cancel, though. He's more excited for tonight than he looks."

"That's right, and I'm not sleeping." Ryou jumped up, trying to claw the little tendrils of hair away from his face, but they fell back down the moment he lowered his hand.

"You look like a ghoul." Marik laughed, then his face dropped. "I meant the zombie kind."

"I knew what you meant." Ryou flung his arms around me, standing on his tiptoes to kiss me goodbye. "You two have fun. Don't worry, I'll keep Marik from getting into trouble."

"Me? It's Bakura who gets into trouble." Marik grinned, pressing their noses together for a moment.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Bakura grinned, his nose wrinkling.

"Come on, you nerd. Let's go." I dragged him out of the apartment and outside.

"See you two later!" He called over his shoulder as we left.

We walked with our arms linked, something that would have made Ryou nervous, but Bakura didn't give a Set-damn. I waited until we were down the block before talking.

"Do you think it'll go well? Between them?"

"Yeah. You ever hear Marik ramble? Because he's been doing that a lot this week. It's wrong, and by wrong an mean adorable."

"Because he's excited? Or stressed?" I looked at Bakura as we walked.

"Both. Mostly excited. It's funny, but I think Ryou being cranky from work and less polite around Marik actually won Marik over."

"Of course. Of course it would." I laughed. "Damn, I came from an idiot."

"An idiot with good tastes- you both like me." Bakura winked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. you do look good tonight. Marik looked good, too."

"Ryou… doesn't." Bakura frowned.

"He's working way too much. He comes home, eats, and sits in front of the TV for thirty minutes before falling asleep in my lap."

"I think I'm going to do something about that." Bakura frowned.

"Yeah? What dark scheme do you have in mind?" I bumped him with my hip. "I want to help."

"I'll let you know later. Tonight, let's have fun."

We went to our normal place. Kyubi was flirting with the server when we showed up. She was leaning close to him and giggling- she seemed to actually enjoy the attention, but the moment Bakura and I sat down her eyes shifted to us, and I hid behind a menu to try and get her to stop it. Bakura just laughed and shot her with his finger like he didn't realize she was flirting, although his never-ending string of puns got her to wander off quick enough.

"You guys are bad for business." Kyubi shook his head and sighed.

"I was trying to be your wingman. Bitches love puns."

"Damn, Bakura, you're worse at flirting with women than I am." Kyubi snorted as he sipped his crown and coke.

"Maybe so." Bakura smirked, proud of himself for his lack of skill in the female flirting department.

"That's why Ryou won't let you dual-class, you know that, right? You'd be a horrible bard."

"Maybe so," Bakura repeated with the same tone and the same facetious smirk.

I shook my head and turned my gaze up toward the television. They were showing clips of the fighters from earlier matches. The other guys started filtering in. We got a few pitchers to pass around, and enough salty, greasy food to put Bakura snuggly in the center of cloud nine.

I could almost recite our conversations from memory before each person spoke. Workouts, meal prep, how we all new the fight was going to go- we all knew our pick for who _should_ win wasn't going to. We were hoping to at least see a good fight out of it.

"Let's play a drinking game," Gakuya said right before the match.

Several people agreed and a pen appeared from somewhere as the guys started scribbling rules down on a napkin. A drink every time there's a hit below the belt, a drink for blood, a drink at the end of each round-

"A drink every time Floyd wants a hug." Bakura snorted.

It was added to the list along with finishing a glass for a knockout and dumping the pitchers on Kyubi's head if Mayweather somehow lost.

Kyubi didn't look concerned at that last rule.

For good reason. The fight went pretty much as expected. Plenty of drinks, but no pictures were dumped and we didn't even get to chug our drinks. The fight was decided, as they often were, by the score cards.

I was still wildly drunk by the end of it. So when someone suggested the sake bombs that had been our tradition after fights, I probably should have passed, but Bakura slammed his hands on the table and screamed _hell the fuck yes_ , so the next thing I knew we were all screaming

 _ichi, ni, san- sake, sake, sake!_

and pounding the table like an angry mob. The shot glasses dropped into our beer and fizzed. I grabbed mine and started chugging like my honor as a duelist, a boxer, and a drinker depended on it, gasping for breath as I slammed the empty glass back down to the table.

"Again!" Bakura shouted.

"Fuck yeah, Bakura can drink!" Kyubi punched him in the shoulder.

Bakura's tiny ass _could not_ drink. He was a cheap date, but fuck it. 3,000 years old was old enough to have two sake bombs even after all the fighting match beer. We signaled the waitress, set up our second round, pounded the table, and chugged until the glasses were beerless glasses of foam. The guys were bragging, and bitching about the fight although we had known how it was going to end, and then it was all over and time for our drunk asses to stumble home.

After telling everyone we'd see them later, Bakura and I made our shaky way out the door and started down the street. It was a bit of a long walk, but a pleasant one that we never minded making when sloshed all to hell. We had our arms locked again, leaning heavy against one another. Bakura sang.

"That's… fucking beautiful, Bakura." I said. The song haunted me somehow. It took awhile for my brain, floating in a vat of beer, to catch on that I somehow knew the song. "It's… a lullabye."

"Rishid sang it to Marik when he was a kid?" Bakura looked up at the stars above us, grinning. "So I learned it to sing to him."

"Fuck. Romantic you was such a good idea? I'm glad you became like that, even if it was too late for us."

"I fucked up. I was a fucking moron. I shouldn't have been so guarded before." Bakura rested his head on my shoulder. "Maybe it's not too late."

Instead of thinking about his last statement, I concentrated on keeping us on the sidewalk. Really didn't want to have to call Ryou and Marik to come pick us up because we twisted an ankle walking home drunk. Although I kinda giggled at the thought because… I couldn't remember my own train of thought. I was fucking wasted. Like, there's probably a moral here. Don't drink kids! But honestly? I was just in a good mood to be alive at that moment. And I was happy to be beside Bakura. And it didn't even matter who was what, or the labels, or if we could kiss or not- though it was a slight agony that we couldn't- but that was still all right, because we were swaying beneath the stars together and laughing, and it was good to be drunk and swaying beneath stars with him while laughing.

"I hope the gods are fucking watching. They better be fucking watching!" I shouted up to the stars, to the Duat, to Nut.

"Watching what? Our crappy attempt at walking?" Bakura laughed.

"No. This-" I slammed Bakura against the brick of a store front.

His breath caught as he hit the wall. His gray eyes flashed brightly, like the moon, as he stared at me. I grinned at him, and caressed his face. His bottom lip trembled, begging to be sucked, _begging to be sucked_ , but I was drunk- not senseless. I leaned in, pressing our foreheads together, and just… existed like that. Existed with him, pressed together, like that first night. I just wanted to be _close_. No, I needed it.

"I love you," Bakura whispered.

"I always knew that. We always knew that. Just like you know that we love you."

"I love you!" Bakura snaked his arms around him, clinging to me. I sighed and combed my fingers through his hair.

Yeah, the gods better be fucking watching. Those voyeuristic sons of bitches. A whole world full of love stories, but none were quite like mine. Or maybe they all were, and the movies got it wrong. I threaded my arm beneath Bakura's and we finished the walk home.

"Hey Bakura?"

"Yeah?"

"Sing it again, that song."

And Bakura sang.


	65. Marik 15

Ryou surrounded us with snacks. We had hot salted popcorn, iced coffee, a huge bowl full of cookie dough with two spoons sticking out, crunchy rice crackers, and two boxes of little chocolate and biscuit shiitake mushrooms. He set up the movie, and transformed the sofa into a nest of blankets and pillows. I found myself sinking into the center of it, wrapped up in a soft, fuzzy blanket with Ryou.

It was cozy, and warm, and…

And I was mentally screaming because I wanted to pull Ryou on top of me and suck the breath from his mouth. For the last two weeks I'd wanted to kiss him. Definitely. My mind wasn't so muddled about it anymore. Kek had been right, when he called me out the morning we brought Ryou breakfast. I had wanted to do it myself, but it would have been hypocritical, so I lied and said I was only bluffing to get one of them to do it instead.

The more RPGs we played, the more we texted, the more photos we swapped (kittens for me, Bakura for him), and duels we played online against each other during nights Bakura and I were at the hotel, the more I realized that I didn't want to go home. I'd miss them. Badly. The kind of ache that you only felt when… you were separated from someone you loved.

I told Bakura that tonight, I was going to ask Ryou if I could try and kiss him again. My plan was to cup his face after the movie, lean in, and whisper the question just out of reach of his lips. Before tonight was over I was determined to kiss him.

"Marik, watch this part. This is it." Ryou grabbed my arm, shaking it a little to make sure I was paying attention.

He was in mismatched pajamas, and his hair was a tangled mess, and the rings around his eyes made him look like a creepy, possessed Slow Loris, but the excitement on his face was endearing. I just wished he didn't look so exhausted.

I watched as Madmartigan snuck into the tent after getting smacked with the dust of broken hearts. Before he could rescue the baby, he wandered over to Sorcsha, whispering that he loved her. A moment later she woke up and put a knife to his throat.

"Now this was my kind of romance."

"Here's the line," Ryou said in an giddy voice.

Madmartigan spoke, " _You are my sun, my moon, my star-lit sky. Without you, I dwell in darkness. I love you_."

I smiled as I watched. It was amazing… that _this_ was what inspired Bakura to write the note that lured me here. Did he see us in this story? Heh, probably. She was threatening to kill Madmartigan, but he responded by putting her hand on his chest.

" _Death next to love is a trivial thing… your touch is worth 100,000 deaths_."

"You could use one of my kitchen knives to reenact this scene when he comes home, if you want." Ryou buried himself a little deeper into his blanket.

We set the picked-over snacks onto the floor so we could both slouch on the sofa. I snorted at Ryou's suggestion, shifting a little closer to him on the couch.

"Ryou, no."

"It'd be romantic!"

Before I could respond, I watched Madmartigan fall in the snow while trying to get fancy with his sword play. We both started laughing, leaning against each other even more.

"Oh gods, it _is_ Bakura!" I couldn't help but shout at the ceiling. That detail had sealed it in my mind forever.

It wasn't until Ryou sighed and pressed all the way against me that I realized I'd wrapped my arm around his shoulders when we resituated. I did it to get comfortable, but now we were snuggling and my stomach felt like a giant tank filled with restless, electric eels.

"That was the most important scene, but it's still a nice movie." Ryou yawned, his eyes fluttering shut.

I looked down. Ryou was falling asleep against me. Fairy tales aside, I couldn't kiss him if he fell asleep. I used the hand not holding him to brush a tangle of hair away from his face.

"Ryou?"

"Should I move?" He fought to open his eyes to look up at me, but they still looked glassy.

"I'd rather we stay like this." I reached out and brushed my knuckles across his cheek.

It was as good as I was going to get. He was too tired, and I knew he wasn't going to make it through the movie. I sighed, fucking karma. I made them wait, and now I was the one that had to wait for a better time.

Only I was not one to wait. I tried to lean down to him, to kiss him after all, but he had me half pinned against the couch, and the angle wasn't right. It'd be too sloppy, and I'd probably only catch his cheek or the corner of his mouth.

"I'm sorry." Ryou wrapped both arms around my waist so he could nuzzle against my side. "I'm not very good-" he yawned, "-company tonight. I'm going to try and say no to overtime this week so when we game next Saturday I'll be less tired."

"You better." I poked the tip of Ryou's nose. He giggled, and it was pretty adorable, but I realized that his nose didn't crinkle when he laughed or smiled like Bakura's did- even when he used to wear Ryou like a housecoat. "Without you keeping things in check, Bakura and Kek would run rampant across the nine kingdoms."

"Last time they won the world."

"The entire world?"

"Yes. I was so mad. They got into a game with one of the gods. They rolled three Super Criticals in a row without cheating. It ruined the entire campaign, but you should have seen their faces." Ryou smiled, his eyes closing again as he told the story. "They were so happy- our little kings of the world. Their first decree was to make clothing illegal."

"Sounds about right." I rolled my eyes.

"And then…" Ryou didn't finish the sentence. He inhaled, exhaled, and yawned, before growing heavy against my side again.

"Here." I eased him down so that his head laid in my lap.

"Mmm, Marik… we have to watch the movie," Ryou gave another loud exhale.

"I'm watching it."

And I was, but I'd also steal little glances at Ryou as well. The way his hair scattered around him. The way his hand curled into the blanket, as if trying to hold on. The way his lips parted as his breathing slowed. The temptation was too great. I reached down and ran my fingers through his hair. I'd wanted to for a long time. Since Battle City, actually. All that blessed hair. I worked the tangles out enough so that my fingers could glide through without snagging. Ryou gave a slight hum, and that was the last stand he could make before utterly succumbing to subconsciousness.

I didn't mind the quiet, or watching the movie as Ryou slept in my lap. It was soothing. Perhaps a little too soothing. By the time the movie finished, I didn't want to get up to pick another movie. I used the remote to turn off the TV and closed by own eyes, not really sleeping, but enjoying the calmness in the room, and how soft Ryou's hair was between my fingers.

We stayed that way for perhaps fifteen minutes before the door burst open and _our little kings of the world_ tumbled onto the floor, laughing and all but rolling on the carpet with their arms around each other.

"Shhhhh," I pressed a finger to my lips. "Don't wake up Ryou."

"Shhhhh," Kek mimicked me, only he pushing his finger against Bakura's lips, hovering just over him.

Bakura's eyes lidded. I knew that look, and I smirked as I watched them. Kek kicked the door shut, still stacked on top of Bakura.

"I can tell you guys had fun."

"Our boxer lost." Bakura snorted, but it crumbled into laughter. "So we celebrated with sake bombs!"

"Shhhhhh," Kek repeated, obviously for the excuse to have their lips all but pressed together with only his finger separating them.

It was a little too errotic to watch, and Ryou's weight in my lap wasn't helping at all. I exhaled through my nose, still pouting that Ryou fell asleep.

"How did you night go?" Kek lifted his head up to ask.

"It was nice." I stroked Ryou's hair again. "There are plenty of leftover snacks if you want something."

"Fuuuuck yeah." Bakura wiggled out from underneath Kek so he could army crawl toward the sofa.

"Hey, get back here. I was trying to torment you." Kek pouted.

"But Kek… snacks." He sat up, claiming the bowl of half eaten cookie dough and resting it in his lap and he grabbed one of the two spoons.

"Fine. I'll go say hi to Marik instead." Kek growled, crawling to the couch and climbing onto it, so he could sit at my other side. He dropped his head down to my shoulder. "Damn, you're comfortable. No wonder Ryou fell asleep."

"Sooooo-" Bakura grinned, and I knew what he was going to ask before he said anything else.

"Ryou fell asleep halfway through the movie." I sighed, trying to explain that my little romantic side quest had _not_ been completed.

"Swear the gods hate us," Bakura grumbled into his cookie dough. "How you gonna ruin all my drunken four-way make-out fantasies like that, Marik?"

"How did you just say all those syllables without stuttering?" Kek's head rolled off of my shoulder and dropped into the other half of my lap. His laughter tickled my thigh.

"Easy. Just don't pay attention to the words you say and they come right out." Bakura waved his spoon around like the answer was obvious and Kek was simply being ridiculous. He and I laughed at the statement.

"Don't hog it all- share." Kek pouted as he watched Bakura cram about three cookies worth of dough into his mouth all at once.

"Sorry. It's all mine."

"Technically, it's mine." I nudged Kek with my elbow and winked down at him.

"Okay. Fine." Bakura rose up on his knees to offer me a bit."

I accepted it. The dough was soft from being left out. I loaded up the second spoon and stole it from the bowl, passing it over to Kek.

"Yay!" Kek cheer, sticking his tongue out at Bakura.

Ryou muttered something, rolling over on this other side.

"Shhh." I hushed Kek again.

"Shhhhh." He sat back up so he could push his finger against my lips that time. His other hand held the cookie dough spoon out so it didn't hit the upholstery.

I felt my breath catch when his finger brushed against my lips. He grinned, leaning forward and lidding his eyes. My heartbeat quickened. His lips were parted and he was drawing ever closer until only his finger separated us.

I waited- waited- waited- and then he whispered, "I know what you want, but you have to kiss Ryou before I'll kiss you."

And that fucking asshole. That fucking asshole who knew _exactly_ what he was doing despite being six sheets to the wind, leaned right past me and down. He plucked an upside kiss from Ryou's lips right there in my lap. That fucking bastard!

Ryou sucked in a breath, smiling and muttering. "Ten more minutes, Kek."

"Dammit, Ryou." Kek dropped his forehead against my thigh.

"At least he didn't shove you away this time." I laughed.

Kek offered his spoon to me. "Well then, this is the sweetest thing I can offer you tonight."

"That's been par for the night." I muttered. Still took a bite of the cookie dough, though.

"What movie did you end up watching?" Bakura reached for the remote to turn on the TV. I pulled it away from him.

"Hmmm, I wonder which one we saw? I'll give you a hint, I…" I smiled, I couldn't tease him. He looked too cute on the floor with his hair a wild mess and the better half of his attention focused on chocolate chips. I thought about the movie and my chest swelled as I looked at Bakura. "I love you."

Bakura looked up, a questioning look on his face.

"You're my sun, my moon, my star-lit sky as well, Bakura."

A happy, dopey look spread across his face, but then his eyes widened as he recognized the quote. "You bastards."

"What? What movie was it?" Kek glanced over at Bakura, confused.

"It was Willow," I answered.

"Dammit, Ryou." Bakura was visibly flushed from drinking, but I suspected that part of it was a blush as well.

"Bakura? Are we still on a date?" Kek asked, dropping his empty spoon back into the bowl.

"Yeah, guess so. Technically not over until I go home." Bakura shrugged.

"In that case, do you know what I think?" Kek cackled up at the ceiling.

"What?" Bakura asked, narrowing his eyes at Kek because of the crazy laugh. I decided to sit back and see what Kek was up to.

"Come here and I'll tell you." Kek crooked his finger, daring Bakura to come closer.

Bakura had the look of a man who knew he was walking into a trap, but wanted to see if he could somehow get the treasure at the end of the corridor regardless. He set the cookie dough back onto the carpet and crawled toward Kek.

"I think…No, I know..." Kek licked his lips.

"Yeah?"

Kek grabbed Bakura and pulled him on top of him. Ryou was curled up at one end of the couch. Bakura and Kek were taking up the other end, and I was sitting in the middle- a little buried beneath them all, but it was comforting to be crowded together like we were. Kek squeezed Bakura hard, laughing.

"This couch is big enough for all of us after all. I knew it!"


	66. Bakura 15

Everything, like, ssssswirlllled, and I was cackling as Kek hugged me to his chest. Hmmmmph, asikhfddhjs… warm. He was warm. So warm. Missed him. Fuck, I've missed him. And Ryou. Ryou was too far away but Marik was close enough and that was exciting. Marik, and them, and me were piled on the couch, and it was about fucking time this happened in my life.

"Fuck, Aaru." I kept laughing. "Fuck Heaven!" Cackling, cackling, cackling, with Kek's warmth and cologne all around me as I nuzzled against him. "This is better! Remind me to give an offering to Ma'at for sending me back."

"We are an offering to Ma'at. I balance out Marik. You balance out Ryou. Ryou balances out me. And…" Kek faltered. "I forgot where I was going, but it made a nice even circle in my head when I thought of it."

"I help balance out Bakura," Marik said.

"Yeah! Like an oroborus. We bite at each other's tails."

"Mmmm… getting tail." I giggled again, squirming in order to take advantage of our proximity.

I thought about it. In slow motion. No, not getting tail, well, yes. I was thinking of that, too. But I was thinking about the circle thing. Kinda like how the room was going in circles, but it was like a merry-go-round so I didn't mind… oh yeah, circles. We balanced each other out. It was true. Okay, damn, memories of the last time Kek and I were this drunk after a fight together kept interrupting. Kek looking up at me with those damn violet bedroom eyes of his was not helping.

My hands wandered across Kek's chest, groping at muscle. Daddy had missed those fucking muscles, sweet fucking gods, I had missed those fucking muscles. Kek and I were still laughing, when Ryou's little voice cut through our nonsense.

"Bakura?" Ryou yawned. "You're home?"

"Yeah, I'm home." I grinned.

I knew he meant from the bar, I knew, but I meant I was _home_. _Home_. Crunched together with all three of them was my real home. I reached out, twining my right fingers with Marik's hand, and using my left hand to drag against Ryou's scalp.

"That's nice. I miss this."

"I miss you," I said, continuing to comb through Ryou's hair.

"I miss you, too." Ryou's eyes fluttered open.

He twisted to look at me, but started when he saw Kek beneath me. Ryou looked up, face glowing pink when Marik smiled down at him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on top of you." Ryou pushed himself up, trying to distance himself from Marik.

Marik rested his hands on Ryou's shoulders to keep him from scurrying away. He leaned toward Ryou. Ryou's eyes grew huge, all pupil and shock and I wanted to lunge forward and kiss him myself.

But Marik hesitated, easing back a few centimeters. No, dammit, no. Don't hesitate with Ryou! He doesn't like that. Do it or don't do it, just don't tread the fence because it'll confuse him and then he'll doubt himself.

JUST KISS ALREADY!

Pleeeeeaaaase…. I was gonna die if they didn't kiss. Like the end of some fairy tale. Only the kiss can save the day.

"Marik? Maybe I should just go to bed, so I don't use you as furniture again." Ryou licked his lips, cheeks rosier than ever as he reached up to lower Marik's hands away from his shoulders.

"Wait-"

Marik squeezed Ryou's shoulders, pulling them together and slurping at Ryou's top lip. He pulled away after he did it, as if he were expecting Ryou to slap him just to call it even between them. Marik's words were quick, rushed, a little frantic.

"Permission, right? You said the kissing was permission. Well…" Marik gave Ryou a sheepish smile. "Consider that permission to use me as furniture any time you'd like."

Ryou grunted, pulling their bodies together again. He paused with his lips hovering near Marik's lips. I held my breath. I could feel Kek's heart pounding against my chest - as excited as my own.

"What else do I have permission to do, Marik?" Ryou lidded his eyes. "Please be specific, I want to hear _exactly_ what you'd like me to do."

"Well…" Marik grinned as he snatched a quick kiss. "You can text me whenever you'd like." He kissed him again. "Or ask me out." He kissed him again. "Or grab my hand."

"May I touch your hair?" Ryou grinned.

Marik kissed him instead of answering and Ryou ran his fingers through Marik's hair- and oh my fucking god-god-god-gods it was beautiful to behold!

"What about sitting in your lap?"

A kiss and then Ryou slid into Marik's lap like he belonged there (sorry, Ducati. That's now Ryou's real estate).

"Wrap my arms around you?"

Another kiss as Ryou slung his arms around Marik's neck.

"Marik?" Ryou asked in the softest of voices.

"Yes?"

"May I kiss you?"

Marik's eyes slipped shut. He nodded and Ryou swept in, dragging his lips against Marik's, tilting Marik's head back to deepen the way their mouths moved against each other.

"Oh gods," Kek whispered.

"Oh gods," I whispered.

"Oh gods," we whispered again at the same time.

"Wait." Ryou pulled away. "You haven't been drinking with them, have you?"

"Ryou, I've been sitting here with you all night long!"

"I just- I mean- when did this happen? When did you change your mind?" Ryou shot us a look. "Did you two know about this?"

"I sure as fuck did!" I laughed, slipping my arms around Kek's waist and teasing my fingers under his shirt. "Marik's been wanting to kiss you for a couple of weeks now."

"Shut-up you drunk blabbermouth!" Marik snapped, but I just laughed at his tone.

"You're so dumb." Ryou growled in that cute way of his that was anything but intimidating. "If you wanted to kiss me you should have just asked! You know- you knew how I- you're so stupid!"

"Ha!" I snorted. "Who's the dumb one now? Yeah, it's not me for once."

"Don't worry, Bakura."

Kek kissed right where my neck and jaw connected, and I'm pretty sure I cooed in delight at the tingling feeling, despite his next words.

"I still think you're the dumb one."

"Fuck you!"

Kek popped into a seated position. Since I was on top of him, the motion had me reeling up with him. He used the momentum to shift me onto my back on the sofa, bracing himself by setting one foot on the floor as his opposite knee dug into the couch cushions between my legs. He loomed over me, eyes darker than Marik's but still in that range of purple that I secretly loved to look at. His grin was all teeth. I wanted those teeth sinking into my neck. I wanted to arch up. I wanted to scream their names.

Kek brushed our noses together. I gripped his shirt, damn near clawing for it as his weight grew heavier against my body.

"Bakura," he purred in a dark, rich gravelly voice that had every gay fiber in my being singing to the heavens. "Since our RPG, you have tried to seduce my bard character 27 times- and failed."

"Give me some dice. I'll roll again."

"No, I'm going to kiss Marik instead."

He smooched my forehead- damn asshole! I was hard enough to jump on a horse and use my dick as a lance in a joust, and that fucker kissed my forehead! Then he swung around and budged in between Marik and Ryou so he could grab Marik by the face and lick his lips.

Marik opened his mouth, reaching out with his own tongue and licking along Kek's lips. They frenched kissed, back and forth.

I couldn't help but smack Kek's ass. He jerked from reflex, made a muffled, annoyed sound, and then plunged his tongue back into Marik's mouth to spite me a little more.

"Oh gods," Ryou said.

"Holy fucking gods," I rubbed my face.

There was no describing the visual feast set before my eyes. Their fingers clutching at their hair, the way their lips gleaned from spit, Ryou's face- gone from pink to crimson- watching with the same awe that I had for the moment.

"Ryou."

I crooked my finger, remembering how long it had been. I hadn't kissed him since I had kissed him goodbye and that was a grievance that needed to be fixed immediately. By the way Ryou's eyes brightened, I could tell he felt the same way.

He stood up so he could run to my side of the couch and crash into my arms. We bumped noses, playfully at first, but then they turned into affectionate nuzzles. It took a moment before Ryou tilted his head and parted his lips, licking me much as Kek had licked Marik.

Ryou tasted like cookie dough, and salted popcorn. The contrast of salty and sweet was perfect against the backdrop of his tongue. I whimpered, the universe spun out of control and I could _feel it_ inside of me as it spiraled away. I was afraid I'd never kiss him again, but now I was, and I was home, and I could barely breathe as we sank deeper and deeper into our kisses.

When we broke to gasp for breath, I noticed Marik and Kek gaping and staring at us.

"I… uh… I think I hear Hamyaa crying for attention." Kek jerked up and stumbled toward the kitchen.

Marik looked a little confused, but Ryou was giggling behind his hand. I could hear the can opener buzzing, and all four kittens trotted toward the kitchen, shouting like a rowdy choir.

"Little jerks, how dare you hide all night long in the bedroom but come out for food." Marik stomped toward the kitchen after them.

Ryou turned back toward me, pinching my side.

"You could have told me. I was trying to be polite and not get too cozy with Marik all night long!"

"And ruin that beautiful surprised look on your face? Never. Besides, fuck you- watching Willow behind my back."

"Oh." Ryou laughed. "Did you find out about that already?"

"Yeah, cuz you were passed out. Ryou-"

"I know." Ryou sighed.

"Look." I rubbed his shoulders as I spoke, trying to knead my words into his stubborn mind. "I know I didn't take good care of either of us in that cute body of yours, but you need to take care of yourself better than this."

"I know." Ryou hid his face against my shoulder. I pushed him back enough to make him look at me again.

"Ryou… I love you. Take care of yourself, okay? I can't stand the thought of anyone I love-"

Ryou kissed my face multiple times. The kisses tickled, and I could hear my laughter ringing out despite the fact that I was sobering up.

"Are we kissing Bakura on his scrunching, precious fucking nose?" Marik asked as he walked back into the living room with Kek right behind him. "Because I'm always down for that."

"Yes!" Ryou laughed, moving over so Marik could slip close and place a quick kiss on my nose.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Marik's lips were on mine before I could demand a better kiss from him. Kissing Marik could make me dizzy quicker and harder than any number of sake bombs. He pulled back and sat on the sofa arm next to me. His fingers ran through my hair.

"I guess… we should go." I drew symbols on my jeans when I noticed Ryou yawning again.

"No, don't." Kek coiled his arms around Marik's waist, hiding his face against Marik's back, but avoiding the center of his shoulder blades where Marik hurt the most.

"Ryou looks like he needs to go back to sleep," Marik said, thinking the same thing I was thinking.

"I'm fine. I'm great! I can just make some coffee, and-"

"Ryou." Marik cupped his face. "We'll come back, don't worry."

"Yeah." I sat up so I could reach out and trace my fingers along Kek's knuckles. "I still have to seduce the bard."

I was trying to laugh, but my stomach was already feeling heavy at the thought of leaving them. I'd just found my way home, I didn't want to leave. I leaned forward and kissed Kek's knuckles.

"If you wanted to watch another movie, we could." Ryou toyed with his hair. "The worst that will happen then is that I fall asleep on the couch again."

"What if Bakura and I stayed overnight on the couch and you go sleep in your be?" Marik leaned back into Kek's embrace. "We could eat breakfast together again when we wake up. That was fun the other week."

"How about we all just lay down in the bed," Kek said.

Yes. Amen. Fucking gods yes.

My eyes went to Marik's face, sobering a little more as I studied his expression to make sure he didn't look overwhelmed.

Pfffffft, no, not overwhelmed. He was still leaning back against Kek and looked like he was ready to fall asleep in Kek's arms standing right there in the living room.

"The bed would feel better against my back."

"I know what would feel even better against your back. This." Kek slipped Mairk's shirt away enough to kiss across his right wing-scars.

"Is the bard trying to seduce me?" Marik's gaze grew hazy, he sighed heavily through his nostrils.

"Sorry, I don't have my dice on me." Kek worked his way to the nape of Marik's neck, brushing the hair away to make room for his lips. "For tonight we'll have to make do with holding each other instead."

When did my ex-ish-but-kinda-not-ex boyfriend become a fucking sex god? No, seriously, when did this happen? I remember his first sloppy kiss and us barely knowing how to touch each other during our first time. Now he was turning Marik into a weak-kneed puddle right before my fucking eyes.

Gods-fucking-damn it's good to be alive!

"Can you carry Bakura?" Kek asked.

"Yeah?" Marik blinked, trying to focus on the question despite being blatantly distracted.

"Good. Let's take our Bakuras to bed, then." Kek scooped Ryou up and marched toward the bedroom.

I tried to protest, but I was in Marik's hold before I could get three words out. I felt too giddy to complain once we started moving, so instead I decided to relax and enjoy the ride. Taking advantage of my position to kiss the top of Marik's chest.

Ryou giggled and smacked at Kek's shoulders as if he wanted down, but grabbed Kek's hair hard and pulled their mouths together before Kek settled him in the middle of the bed.

Marik rested me next to Ryou. He and Marik stood over us with thoughtful expressions on their faces.

"Do you like what you see?" I slipped out of my jeans. My boxers were still on, but that didn't stop from spreading my legs in a tempting gesture.

"Hard to choose, isn't it? I mean one of us has to deal with that one all night long." Kek chuckled as he gestured at me.

"Fuck you, bastard!" I shouted up at him.

"Well, technically we're still on our dates, so-" Marik slipped behind Ryou, spooning against him.

Ryou looked surprised for a moment, and then sighed, settling into the comfort of being held- Ryou's secret kink. I felt Kek behind me, cradling me against his chest-

"Oh, _now_ you want to cuddle?" I grumbled.

Oh fuck, it was easy to forget that spooning was my secret kink, too. Fuck internal drunk honesty. I didn't want to even _think_ about how much I loved it.

"Oh? Did you want to swap?"

"You better squeeze me harder with those huge fucking arms of yours."

"If you insist." Kek crushed me against his chest and I couldn't help the little mewl that escaped from my mouth.

OKAY FINE I REALLY LOVE TO BE FUCKING SPOONED. FUCKING HELL! I ADMIT IT!

And my face felt like fire. Ryou twined his fingers with mine. Kek held me. Marik had his leg threaded between Ryou's so he could rub his toe against the top of my foot. My life was so good at that moment that it was hard to breath. Swaddled by bodies, swarmed by light touches, reaching out and getting to touch them in return, I could have lived another 3,000 years and remember that moment long after I'd forgotten anything else.

"Welcome back, both of you." Ryou smiled, eyes closed.

"Yeah." Kek nodded above my head. "We're glad to have you both back home."

"Home?" Marik grinned, although half of his face was lost in the blizzard of Ryou's hair.

I used my toes to toy with Marik's feet for a moment, noticing that his grin widened as he watched me. I blew him a kiss, whispering to him the very thing I was feeling at that moment.

"Yes. Home," I said. "Welcome home."


	67. Marik 16

Something warm and soft tickled my heel. I registered it as Diabound right away because she was the kitten out of the bunch that loved curling by feet. The loud thrum near my tailbone was obviously Ducati, although one of the other two was balled up near my shoulders as well. Bakura was curled against my chest, which was a pretty common thing to feel as I woke up each morning. My fingers reached out to comb his hair, but… it was too long.

That record scratch moment was when I fully woke up and remembered the night before. It _was_ Bakura in my arms, just not my thief. I opened my eyes and looked down at Ryou. My fingers continued toying with his hair. Bakura lay beside him, spread eagle with his legs flung over both Ryou and Kek. All I could really see of Kek was a hedge of hair poking out from the blanket. I grinned at them, imagining all the mornings they must have woken up like this- piled together like this. No wonder they were so sad when Bakura left. No one in their right mind would give this up. And the fact that Bakura had been willing to for me said a lot.

It was like having a security blanket. No, it was like having three security blankets, one layered on top of the other, a nest of contentment filled with kittens. It was honestly one of the most comfortable moments of my life. By the light coming through the window, it felt like we'd slept in quite a bit. I thought about getting up and checking the time, but I didn't want to move quite yet. Instead, I closed my eyes again and allowed my thoughts to wander to the last few months. How everything felt flipped upside down, but at the same time, I wanted it to stay that way.

One of the cats shouted from the other side of the bed. I opened my eyes again and saw Hamyaa batting at Kek's spikes. Kek brushed the kitten away and he yelled for attention again.

"I'll feed you in a few minutes," he grumbled under his blanket.

That didn't stop Hamyaa, and after the third exchange, Kek grabbed him and pulled him below the covers to rub his neck and quiet him. His purrs weren't as loud as Ducati, but loud enough to carry throughout the room.

"Hungover?" I asked.

"No. A little tired still." He sat up, careful not to startle the orange kitten in his arms. "You don't think this was some drunk thing, do you?"

"Of course not." I rolled my eyes. Ryou was laying in my freaking arms, why would he worry about that?

"Okay." Kek exhaled. "Guess this just seems too good to be true."

"We're not even doing anything." I chuckled.

"Aren't we? We're doing exactly what I've wanted to be doing for a long time now."

"Laying in bed like bums?"

"It's quality time, you fool." Kek gave me an unimpressed stare.

I only laughed harder for it. He wasn't nearly as fun to tease as Bakura though. Bakura would be screaming by now. Speaking of the devil, Bakura groaned, and stretched, and sat up while blinking his eyes.

"This… isn't hungover…" he mumbled.

"No. This is the bedroom." I shot him with my finger in personation of him.

"Cute." His hair was a little storm swirling over his head, and his sleepy confusion made him a tempting target to kiss, but Ryou was nestled too sweetly in between us for me to attack him.

"Bakura? Are you still drunk?" Kek asked.

"Holy fuck, I think I am. Damn. I need pancakes." Bakura tossed his head back and laughed.

He crawled out of bed and the cats scattered, following him as he stumbled toward the bathroom.

"Feed them!" Kek shouted.

"Yeah! Yeah! Let me piss!"

"Five more minutes and I'll make some pancakes." Ryou sighed, curling closer to me.

"He's lying, isn't he?" I grinned down at him.

"Never trust Ryou's concept of five minutes" Kek shook his head.

"Oh… this wasn't a dream." Ryou opened his eyes, staring at my chest and blushing.

"No. It's not a dream. Bakura is really pissing in your toilet right now. Probably splattering all around the seat as we speak."

" _Fuck you! I can hear you, Kek!"_ Bakura shouted from down the hall before we could hear the toilet flushing and then the sink going.

"Oh gods, you kissed me last night!" Ryou jerked up to sitting, holding his reddening cheeks. "Oh gods, so… is this a thing now? Is- was it a mistake? Or- how do you feel about it this morning, Marik?"

Instead of answering- I was starting to get how Ryou worked- I reached out and grabbed the lapel of his pajama top. I dragged him back down to the bed so that we faced each other while laying on our sides. His eyes were dark and round as I leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

"Okay. That works." All the tension melted from Ryou's body as he settled back into the mattress.

Kek scooted closer and slipped his arm around Ryou. He used his pointer finger to skim across my knuckles. A light shiver fluttered up my spine. We lay there for a moment. Kek and I played an unspoken game of running our fingers up and down Ryou's arm, and seeing how many times we could intentionally brush our hands together in the process. A rich, buttery smell floated into the room, and Kek sat up.

"Damn, that fool really did want pancakes. We probably shouldn't leave him unsupervised."

Kek kissed the back of Ryou's head before slipping away. I kissed Ryou's forehead before following him.

"Am I getting breakfast in bed again?" Ryou laughed.

"Do you want syrup on the sheets?" Kek asked.

"No, actually. I don't. Lube is bad enough." Ryou crawled out bed.

We all ended up in the kitchen, where a fresh pot of coffee greeted us. I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. Bakura had added cinnamon to the coffee grounds and the rich mix of smells were heaven. My stomach rumbled, and I poured everyone a cup before brewing another batch for us to drink during breakfast.

"Bakura, should you be in front of a hot griddle?" I smirked at him as I sipped my coffee. The cinnamon was a nice touch to the flavor.

"First of all, fuck you. Second, I'm only a little loopy, not plastered. Third, fuck you."

"It's because you're so tiny." Kek laughed.

"Fuck you as well."

"Actually, this is a sexy look for you. You should be in the kitchen and cooking for me more often Bakura." I winked at him.

"I'm going to add pork belly to these damn pancakes just so you can't eat them."

"Add protein powder to mine." Kek yawned over his cup.

"Okay," Bakura siad. The jump from facetiousness to neutral was a little amazing to behold. Bakura reached into a cupboard and pulled out a bag of whey protein mix.

"How much did you feed the kittens?" Ryou frowned, leaning over to stare at them huddled against the back wall of the kitchen.

"Uh, well, they kept jumping on me, so I might have spilled some."

"Bakura, you're so irresponsible. They're going to get sick if they eat that much." Kek stood up and rushed to save his babies. And if watching Bakura cook was cute- watching Kek get overprotective of kittens was heart-skipping.

Bakura held Kek's shoulder to stop him. "They're fine, Kek. They'll eat their fill and then wander off to beg us for pancakes."

"I think they'll be okay, Kek," Ryou assured him.

"Fine." Kek crossed his arms for a moment before getting plates and forks while Bakura finished cooking. "But if they puke then _you_ clean it up."

The pancakes were surprisingly good. I mean, _Bakura_ made them, but they were delicious. Pancakes wasn't something I expected to be in Bakura's skill set. They seemed to sober him up, too, which meant he got even mouthier after we started eating. He was right about the kittens though. As soon as we started in on our plates, little crying furballs tried to circle around our ankles. Had I not watched them gorge themselves on kibble five minutes prior, I would have pitied them, but as it was I admired their manipulation skills.

"So what are you guys going to do all day?" I asked.

"Sleep." Ryou yawned, politely behind his hand.

"No more overtime," Kek growled into his coffee cup.

"I know… I know." Ryou flung back his head, groaning.

I wondered if he'd call in sick for a few days if I batted my eyelashes and used a flirty tone. Probably not. Ryou was too polite to inconvenience others, and as stubborn as Bakura when it came to principle. We still needed to do something. Bakura said his computer skills came from Ryou, so I couldn't imagine what Ryou was doing stocking styrofoam cones and modeling clay when he was smart and creative enough to do so much better.

He needed a vacation, I had decided- and since he wasn't the type to give himself one, I'd have to… help.

Bribery, manipulation, and fucking over society to get my way is perfectly moral when it's to help someone, right? I'm pretty sure Yugi would approve. After all, Ryou was one of his friends, and morality always seemed to move its own goal posts around if it were for the Pharaoh's whim, and anything that was Yugi's whim tended to be Atem's will.

All in all, I think the gods would forgive me for what I was planning to do.

"Since Bakura cooked, it's only fair that I do the dishes." Ryou yawned and stretched as he stood, and then shuffled over to the kitchen sink.

"Kek. Why don't you put Ryou to bed and then the rest of us can do the dishes?" I smirked.

"That's okay. I don't mind- Kek!" Ryou gasped as Kek scooped him bridal style into his arms and carried him out of the kitchen.

"You're planning something and I want in." Bakura leaned across the table, elbows planted on the surface like the rude, uncouth scoundrel he was.

"Wait for Kek to get back." I said as I gathered up the dishes and started loading the dishwasher.

A moment later Kek re-entered the kitchen. His gaze locked on to me. "You're planning something and I want in."

"I know you enjoy your job, but could you get a Friday off if you asked for it?"

Kek used a sponge to wipe down the counters after I loaded the dishwasher. He pursed his lips together and then, after thinking for a minute, nodded his head.

"Yeah, I don't think Kyubi would mind, and I can get Gakuya to look after the kids for a Friday."

"Good. Get Friday off. Ryou needs- at the very least- a three-day weekend."

"How are you going to get _Ryou_ to take a extra day off?" Bakura raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to bribe his manager to send him home."

"His manager is a vat of sewage." Kek scowled. "He shouldn't get _rewarded_ for doing his own damn job for one day."

"No, he shouldn't, but Ryou won't call in, he won't quit even if I offered him enough money to make it worth his while, and if I bought out the craft store and fired him he'd probably get mad at me."

"He sure the fuck would." Bakura laughed.

" _Uurgh_ , yeah, I guess your way is the simplest way to get Ryou off work." Kek rolled his eyes.

"We'll have more time if we leave Thursday night, but I want it to be a surprise, so we need to get Ryou out of the house while we pack him a bag and load the plane. Bakura, your job is to get Ryou out of the house and distract him for a few hours while Kek and I get everything set up."

"Got it. Take Ryou out on a date." Bakura shot me and Kek with his fingers both at once. "I'll go brush my teeth and work my magic right away."

Bakura left and Kek took the opportunity to lift _me_ up- as if I were no heavier than Ryou- and let me down on the counter. He slipped his arms around my waist, teasing the writing on my lower back, and tilted his head up at me.

"I bet I can get half the packing down right under Ryou's nose without him even realizing it well before Thursday."

"Oh?" I grinned down at Kek. "Did you have an idea on how to spend the extra time?"

"I thought…" Kek stalled his answer by pressing deliberate, languid kisses up and down my sternum. "Maybe we could go on our own date."

"You have my attention. Ask me out." My hands both reached out. One toyed with his spikes of hair. The other slipped under his tank top to brush his top scars. "You're using the oils I gave you. I can feel the difference."

Kek turned away, although his arms didn't move. "Ryou gave me puppy eyes, so I couldn't very well say no."

"I'm glad. Gods, you two really need a few extra partners to make sure you take care of yourselves."

"What about your high maintenance ass?"

"I don't deny that. Weren't you going to ask me out?"

"I want to go to the zoo." Kek stabbed the linoleum with his toe, as if he needed the mock violence in order to deal with the innocence of his request.

I slipped down from the counter so we could stand face to face, leaning in and brushing our noses together before sealing the date proposal with a light kiss between our lips. Kek's mouth twisted into a crooked grin as he caressed my cheek.

"It's a date." I gave a little fist bump to his shoulder and then wandered to the bathroom to brush my teeth and change. The overnight bags we'd started leaving at their apartment were one of my better plans.

After I was ready, I went to check on Bakura to make sure he'd managed to talk Ryou into a Thursday afternoon date. At first I thought they were kissing. Bakura lay stacked on top of Ryou, and they had their fingers knotted into each other's hair. My stomach jolted with excitement and I stopped to admire them for a moment. Then I could hear Bakura whispered in a fast rush of words. He was lecturing Ryou about taking better care of himself. I exhaled, nodding to agree with Bakura although they couldn't see me.

Ryou muttered something back, but it was too quiet to hear. Bakura answered by sinking down and tugging on Ryou's bottom lip. I took it to mean their conversation was over, so I lay down beside them and dragged my fingers through Bakura's silvery hair.

"I'm taking Kek to the zoo Thursday," I said.

"What a coincidence. Ryou and I are going to an internet café as soon as he gets off work- _on time_." Bakura shot Ryou a look.

"On time." Ryou giggled.

"An internet cafe?" I wrinkled my face. "Take him someone better than that."

"It's Ryou. Going somewhere they can goof off on their computers while drinking coffee and eating dessert is the _perfect date_." Kek laughed from the doorway.

"Ryou, you're hopeless." I shook my head. "Next time we all go out, I'm going to make sure you get some sunshine."

"I look forward to it." Ryou's face beamed.

Little did he know that us being outside together would be much sooner than Ryou thought.


	68. Ryou 18

"It was the oddest thing? When I looked at the schedule today, I saw that I actually have Friday off as well as Saturday and Sunday?" I was still in shock at the thought of a three day weekend.

There's no way _that_ was going to last. It was only Monday, but I wouldn't be surprised if they called me by the end of the night and asked me to work for someone. Definitely by Friday I'd get a call. Someone would fake sick so they could go to a party or be with their friends, but it was still a nice hope- to think of being off for more than one day. Even if I had to go in _one_ of those days, I'd still get a proper two days off, and I knew I needed a rest. It was a good thing Kek didn't mind cooking his own chicken. Otherwise dinner all last week would have been cupped noodles and pre-packaged desserts.

"Good." Kek nodded as we walked home that afternoon. "If they call you in, tell them to go fuck themselves."

"I could never say that out loud." I blushed at the thought.

"I don't know… I remember you saying it once or twice." Kek winked at me.

"Saying impolite things to you and Bakura doesn't count." I smiled, laughing a little as he poked my ribs in response.

Once we got home, I took a nap on the couch while Kek made chicken stir fry. It was a lovely nap. And it was even more lovely to wake up to Kek dotting kisses across my forehead and pushing a plate of food into my hands once I sat up. We ate, watched TV, talked about our campaign, and it didn't seem like very long before I was yawning again.

"Ready for bed?" Kek asked as I lay against his shoulder on the couch.

I groaned. No. I didn't want to go to bed so soon. I was tired of being tired at this point and I wanted to do anything else besides sleep and work.

"Let's stay up for a moment longer," I muttered, although my eyes were closed.

"A little longer?" Kek pulled me into his lap, cradling me with both arms and brushing our noses together. "How much longer?"

"Hmmm… now that I think about it, maybe I am ready for bed. It's been a while." I stole a kiss

"It's been three days. I'm dying."

I laughed. Three days might not _sound_ like a long time, but it _felt_ like it. It was much too long compared to what we were used to, and my arms were already looped around the back of Kek's neck so I could pull him in for another kiss. Kek pulled away, but only so he could pick me up and carry me down the hall.

After a quick detour to the bathroom to brush our teeth and strip off our clothes, we both ended up on top of the blankets, twisted together like a pretzel. I groped at his chest and kissed all the broad, solid muscle I could reach. The feeling of our naked legs brushing together sent shivers up my spine. I started to bite up Kek's collarbone. He purred and cradled the back of my head with his hands to hold me closer. My teeth trailed up to his soft throat and he sighed in the sweetest way.

I grabbed his hair because I knew it was his favorite thing. I grabbed his hair because of the way his body shuddered in my arms when I pulled it. I grabbed his hair because it made him growl and buck against me until both our cocks were good and hard. I reached out for the lube on the nightstand (realizing in mild horror that it'd been sitting there while everyone was here yesterday and the night before, but no one had said anything, so I hoped they didn't notice it).

"I'll get it," Kek said.

"Okay."

I untangled my fingers from Kek's hair so he could scramble for the bottle. He wrinkled his face as he grabbed it and it almost slipped to the floor.

"Damn bottle's always too slick to hold."

"Well, be more careful when you use it." I giggled.

"You know that's impossible." He popped the cap with his thumb. "One it's in the palm- it's everywhere."

I reached for the bottle. I wanted to prep Kek and coat myself with lube, already eager, but Kek held the bottle out of my grasp. He shot a sly look my way and wagged a finger in a "no-no" gesture.

"I can tell you're still tired, so why don't you just lay back, get comfortable, and let me take care of you tonight." Kek licked his lips to demonstrate how much he was looking forward "my care."

My breath fizzled in my chest, and I felt my cheeks burning. That hungry look in his eyes, the way his tongue worked around his lips, the thought of getting to lay sprawled out against the bad and do nothing except _enjoy_ _it_ as Kek brought us to orgasm. Who could resist temptation like that? Laughing, I dropped back down to the bed, laying spread eagle. Kek scanned his eyes up and down my body, shifting his eyebrows as if I were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.

I raised my arms up over head, clasping my right wrist with my left hand as if in imaginary shackles. Planting my feet against the bed, I drew my knees up a little to give Kek more room between my legs. He kissed around my pelvis as he slipped in the first finger. I squirmed, but didn't protest him going slow. Although, when he added a second finger, I bucked up. His fingers were so thick and long, that I couldn't help hitching against them as he slid them in and out. Kek grinned, and then a intense tingle shivered up my body as he toyed with my prostate. I grabbed at the blanket with both hands, pressing my cheek against the blanket and closing my eyes so I could focus on the _feeling_ of everything. The way my heart beat wildly, the way my thighs straights as I continued to buck up, everything dissolved into a beautiful pleasure that spread across me.

Kek continued to toy with me, leaning down and dabbed his tongue against my cockhead. I was already breathing heavy, and a long lick sent a scream from my throat to the ceiling. Kek chuckled at the scream. The vibrations from his lips taunted my tip. He sucked the end for a moment, pulling back with a loud, intentional _POP!_

"I don't think I can wait anymore." He pulled away, dousing lube over his cock and making an even greater mess of the bottle that he'd be sure to complain about next time we used it.

But I didn't care as I watched the way he stroked himself until his entire shaft gleamed in the indirect light spilling from the bathroom in the hallway. I bit my bottom lip and allowed the anticipation to build up inside me. I could already feel my lower muscles clenching a little in expectation of that first, overbearing whoosh of being filled. Kek kneeled before me, like a man at an altar (holding his offering in-hand). He lined up, teased for only a moment, and-

"Kek!" I moaned when he entered, easing in so slow that I had to keep my grip locked on the bedding to prevent myself from grabbing him and pulling him in faster.

He leaned forward and smothered my neck with kisses, but kept his hips slow and easy. I hooked a leg around him, trying to squeeze him with my thighs to gently encourage him to go harder.

"You're not relaxing at all." He teased with a breathless chuckle, pushing in a little further.

"Too excited." I grunted and wrapped my other leg around him.

Kek groaned in delight, moving a little faster- just a little. He kissed my lips. Our tongues rolled together. I hitched up my stomach, rubbing my cock against Kek's body. I kept kissing him, even after it became too hard to breathe through my nose, even after my chest burned. I waited until I was desperate for a full breath before turning my head, gasping and screaming as he moved within me.

" _Mmmmm_ … you make it hard not to come right away." Kek purred in my ears.

I sorta took that as a challenge, releasing my hands so I could grab his hair and tug. Kek growled. _That_ made him move harder, quicker, giving each thrust all his energy. The pleasure flared through my body. I whimpered with each exhale, getting so close that I couldn't take it anymore. I removed my right hand from his hair so I could rake my nails down his ribs, lower… lower… until I stuffed my hand between our bodies, forcing Kek to readjust enough to give me room to stroke myself. I clutched at my own cock and jerked it in a desperate rush to help shove myself over the edge.

" _Nnnnnnngh!_ " The muffled noise in the back of my throat became a high-pitched whine as my toes curled and my cock pumped come between our bellies.

I only had a moment to bask in the buzz of my climax, however, because a loud crash from the living room made my heart jump into my throat. Kek glanced over his shoulder at the open doorway, although nothing was there. He still shouted.

"I will skin all four of you and make a coat!"

"Ignore them." I grabbed his hair with my left hand and yanked his head back into my direction. "Focus on _me_."

"Yes sir." Kek leaned down and licked my bottom lip, a huge grin on his face.

His hips pushed forward again, and I gasped- even more sensitive now that I was relaxed and satisfied. He wasn't holding back anymore, since I'd finished, and I dug the nails of my right hand into his ribs as I rode out his thrusts. With each push, I hitched up to meet him, reveling in the hiccups of sound Kek made with each kiss of our bodies.

"Fuck! Fuck! _Ooooh_!" Kek tossed back his head, ignoring how hard I pulled his hair, and trembled as he came.

Finished, he flipped over onto his back beside me and we grinned up at the ceiling as our breathing calmed and leveled.

"What do you think they knocked down?" Kek asked.

"Something that can be cleaned up tomorrow." I let out a long breath.

"You know. If we showered right now, we could sleep in an extra twenty minutes in the morning."

I rolled onto my side, slipping my finger up and down his belly. "You going to help wash my back?"

"Only if you return the favor." He grabbed my hand and kissed the scar on my palm.

I smiled at him. Oooops, I really made a mess of his hair! I always get too carried away, but he looked so happy as he grinned at me that I wanted to mess it up all over again.

"Deal. Get the hot water started."


	69. Bakura 16

Sure we said it as a joke.

But I know how we joke.

And that's why I bought it. Just in case it was something I never knew I wanted, or something Marik never knew _he_ wanted. Either or, best way to find out was give it a try, right?

It was some scraps of red lace held together by ribbon. I paired it with my boots and laid knees up and spread-legged on the bed of our hotel room, waiting for Marik. But I wasn't good at waiting, and I got bored, so I ended up thumbing through some of Ryou's video collection on my phone. I started with relatively harmless clips, but then I stumbled on the one where we had Kek tied up with hemp rope and a spreader bar so we could drizzle melted candle wax all over his broad, sexy fucking chest, and I couldn't help myself. It'd been one my personal favorites out of Ryou's NSFW collection (that's why I had a copy on my own phone), and I was only half way through the video when Marik finally returned home.

"Room's booked. The flight is scheduled. I even arranged a sweet little welcome surprise at the hotel room that I think Ryou and Kek will particularly appreciate, so now we just need to-hel-the-fuck-lo."

"You like?" I grinned, thumbing the pause button on my phone.

Marik set some bags down and walked toward the bed. He circled around me, devouring me with his stare. He knelt onto the mattress, rolling his palms on the skin showing between my boots and the teddy.

"I'm a little surprised about how aroused I am seeing you in this."

And I was a little surprised about how aroused I was laying in what was essentially overpriced scraps of cloth. It was the look Marik gave me. I could tell he wanted to tear into me like I was a fancy-wrapped present.

"Mmmm, you're already hard." Marik bent between my legs so he could work his lips against the bulge pushing up the satin of the matching panties that came with the teddy.

I hitched my hips up, pressing against his mouth. I couldn't stand the teasing pressure of his lips against my cock, and I slipped my thumbs under the band of my underwear so I could tug them free, but Marik tapped the phone screen.

"Which one is that?"

"One you haven't seen yet." I flipped the phone around.

He'd seen all the regular videos on my phone, and even more that Ryou had sent, but since that awkward morning when Ryou first kissed him, I'd been hesitant to show him any of the naughtier ones. Even after it became clear that Marik was interested after all, I didn't want to somehow fuck up the fragile stability we were all trying to build with each other.

But now seemed like a good time to re-introduce Marik to Ryou's spicier films, so I hit play and enjoyed the way his eyes rounded a little, and how his lips parted as he watched Kek twist on the bed from the sting of the melted candle wax, and then moan when Ryou and I cooled the red trails the wax left with our tongues.

"No wonder you're so hard." Marik's gaze stayed locked on the screen.

I could tell he was trying to joke, but he was too distracted to put any real sense of humor in the words.

"Ryou's got a great imagination." I grinned.

Marik flicked his stare in my direction for a moment before returning to the phone screen. A smirk teased against his lips.

"So do I. I can't wait to see what sort of ideas we can come up with together."

A jolt shot through me. I couldn't stop imagining Ryou and Marik coming towards me at the same time with the exact same look Marik currently wore. Half a groan escaped me as my imagination ran off like a chariot through the desert. The sound brought Marik's full attention back to me. The video ended and I dropped the phone somewhere beside me as Marik leaned down to kiss my thighs.

"But right now… I have you all to myself. Don't worry. I think I can manage without help for today."

His lips trailed down to the crimson satin stretched across my cock. My eyes rolled up into the back of my head and a full groan slipped past my lips. Malik lapped at my tip through the soft material. He obviously enjoyed the way I squirmed. Bastard. He enjoyed teasing me way too much, and I thought he deserved to be knocked off his edging high horse a little bit- and I knew exactly how to go about it.

"Marik." I pressed my hips up a little. A reflex I couldn't control.

" _Hmmmm_?" Marik hummed with his lips intentionally pressed against my tip so the vibrations would tingle down my shaft.

I huffed out a quick breath. My hips raised and lowered as my balls screamed for attention. My eyes were shut, and I forced them open so I could look at Marik's cat-like, taunting gaze when I answered him.

"Sit on my face."

"Huh?"

A curious smile lit up his features. He must have expected me to curse at him and demand him to hurry up. Usually that's exactly what I'd do, but that video had me inspired. Marik and Ryou weren't the only ones with filthy fucking imaginations. And at that moment mine was working overtime. I licked my lips, exaggerating the movement.

"Sit on my face. If you're going to tease me for half the day anyway, at least let me eat you out while you do it."

Marik hummed, like he was only half-considering my proposition. He teased his fingers right below the strap of the thong I was wearing. The tingle of it made me grit my teeth to keep from shouting out. Dirty, fucking, no good-

"Well," Marik sang, continuing to drive me crazy with only the most careful of touching.

 _Damn him!_

"That does sound fun, so I suppose I'll indulge you this one time." With a wink, Malik stood up and stripped right in front of my feasting eyes.

Oh gods, he was gorgeous. Oh gods, I could never shake the urge to wrap my arms and legs around him and _cling_ to him long after thirst and hunger demanded I let go. My breath felt too quick and shallow in my chest as Marik eased onto the bed and wiped his leg up over my head so he could hover just above my mouth.

I started by licking up his caramel colored thighs. If that cock-teasing brat was going to torture me for an hour before letting me come, I was going to make damn sure I got my vengeance and give him the same treatment.

But who the fuck was I kidding? The moment his tongue darted beneath the thong to tease my lower belly, I had already lost my own game. It'd been 26 seconds since we began, and I already couldn't wait anymore. I gave up trying to lap at Marik's thighs and rolled my tongue up toward his ass. Using both hands to spread his cheeks apart, I ran my tongue up the length of his entrance, earning a soft grunt for him as a reward. I somehow managed to control the pace of each lick, making each long, deliberate stroke last a good few seconds before pulling away. I made sure there was a few seconds between each so that Marik could anticipate the inevitable next brush of my tongue against his nerves.

He was far too good at playing quiet. The only way I was able to discern his mounting eagerness was the way his fingers curled and uncurled around the string of the crimson thong. Finally, I glided my tongue in a languid circle around the circumference of his asshole, and before I knew it, my panties were shoved down and around the knees of my boots and Marik was looping fast circles around my cockhead, as if he were trying to show me how he wanted to be licked himself. Okay, fair enough. If he was going to get down to business, I didn't mind giving in to his whims- at least in the bedroom.

I sped up the rotations of my tongue, and a loud huff of air washed over my cock as Marik bore down a little lower against my mouth. I was still holding him with both hands, but I adjusted so that my right hand could slip toward Marik's front and roll his balls against my palm.

" _Haahhh!_ " Marik made a surprised, enthused noise as I toyed with his balls and continued to twirl my tongue like a tornado against his asshole.

Marik switched to fluttering his tongue against my tip, so I followed suite. It must have pleased him, because instead of teasing me until I was clawing the mattress apart, Marik decided to drop his head down and swallow me all the way to my base.

"Marik yes!" I screamed before shoving my tongue up inside him and wiggling it for a moment before pulling back of fluttering against his entrance again.

His lips sealed around my cock. The pressure and heat of his mouth had me damn-near vibrating with _want_. Each slide upward sent a rush of euphoria from my cock to my navel, and each push downward consumed me with heat. The more his lips slid against my shaft, the more I wanted it, and the more I wanted it, the more I plugged my tongue in and out of Marik's body and licked in circles around his asshole. Our breathing was harsh against the silence of the room, but hearing the hushed, needy breaths of both of us mixing together heightened the sensation of his mouth cozily wrapped around my aching cock.

Marik's tongue kept dabbing at my cock head as his mouth slid up and down the top of my shaft. I had to concentrate on my own licks, pausing now and then to moan when Marik went deeper and allowed my tip to rub against the top of his throat. Oh fuck, oh gods, of fuck! I wanted him to suck me off forever. I wanted to come down his throat again and again and again. I wanted him to flip me over and plough into my asshole until my voice was hoarse from screaming.

His ass was a mess of spit, dripping wet from the constant flicks and circles of my tongue. But I had no intention of stopping, no matter how many times I had to pause to moan. I poked my tongue inside him again, pushing in and out, matching my rhythm to the bobbing of his own head, relishing in the knowledge that we were fucking each other both at once. Marik tossed his head back to moan, circling his hips against my licks.

"Oh Bakura. Oh Bakura!"

Fuck yes, I loved when he shouted my name. How could you not utterly lose your shit when someone like Marik Ishtar chose to scream your name in a fit of passion?

" _Mmmm, Marik_." I purred in response to him.

I used some of the wetness between his legs to coat the palm of my hand before stroking up and down Marik's hard cock. His dick slid easily against my spit-lubed palm, and he was full on rolling his hips down to my mouth. He plunged his mouth down over my cock again, sucking hard, then relaxing his throat so he could take my full length, and fuck, fuck, oh fuck was it good.

I couldn't concentrate anymore. I wanted to come so badly that I was delirious. I fluttered my tongue against his skin. I couldn't think enough to do anything else, just hold that one movement while Marik continued to swallow me whole. Oh gods, oh gods, _oh sweet, fucking, wonderful- Marik_! I wanted to sing his praises, but I kept fluttering my tongue, not wanting to stop pleasuring him. But after a few more minutes of deep, hard sucking, I couldn't- I couldn't anymore. I had to scream.

"Oh fuck, Marik! Oh fuck! Oh fuck! I'm coming!"

And I was, right into his mouth, the exact same as my fantasies from a moment ago. The pleasure rang out, vibrating in my every single nerve. My breath stopped, my thoughts stopped, time probably stopped, there was only the _yes-fuck-yes_ of orgasm shivering and shivering until I was a done, useless weight against the mattress.

Useless as I was, I could tell Malik didn't want me to stop by the way he kept hitching down against my screamin mouth. So I grabbed his balls again, fondling them clumsily and I started circling my tongue again.

"Shit!" Marik swore as he grabbed his cock and stroked himself lightning fast.

I felt all the muscles in his thighs and ass tighten and relax as he bucked into his own clenched fist. Slow and tiny hitches at first, but then Marik was all but riding my face as he flicked his wrist even faster.

"Fuck! Fuck! Bakura! Fuck! Bakura! Oh fuck-"

He hunched forward as he finished himself off with a few last jerks of his hand. I felt warmth showering down onto my belly and sighed with satisfaction as he came all over the red ribbons and lace. Marik froze for a moment to catch his breath, and then eased to my side, looking down to catch my gaze.

I looked back at him. The flush of his face, the way his hair had skewed from leaning down between my legs, the way the sweat flashed like little licks of flame from the lamps all around us, Marik was a joy to exist with. He was a treasure that I could drape over my body in a way that was far better than wearing the gold of dead pharaohs.

"I love you," I whispered into the quiet of the room.

"Bakura." He dropped back down, pushing kisses against my mouth and raking his fingers through my damp hair.

I chuckled, more happy than I wanted to admit. Quick, someone needed to distract the gods. I didn't want them to see in case they decided to ruin the moment somehow. When we broke apart for air, I tugged at the strap of the teddy.

"Help me out of this thing? There's a hundred different hooks and knots. It took me forever to figure out how to get into it in the first place, and I want to shower before we take a nap."

"Okay." Marik laughed as he started untying the ribbon. "But after our nap we have to pack for our trip tomorrow. Remember, don't let Ryou know what's going on. We don't want to give him a chance to make an excuse not to go."

"I know. I know. Don't worry, I have my own plans involving Ryou."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." I grinned. "He's too nice to quit a job, but I think I know of something that would… motivate him. Something he'd much rather do."

"Hmm, interesting." Marik finished with the knots and began on the little eye hooks running down the sides of the garment. "Tell me all about it while we take a shower together."

"Fair warning. It's nerd stuff," I said as I poked Marik's chest.

"Well, if you bore me too much, I'm sure I can distract myself."

He danced his fingers along my liberated chest. I was satisfied, but that didn't stop me from shuddering at his light touch. I decided I'd give him the longer, more detailed version of what I was going to do. You know, make sure he had plenty of time to get bored. I may not be able to edge worth a good gods damn, but I could monologue like the best of them- especially about RPGs which, as often was the case, made up most of my plan.

The week felt like it'd gone by ⅓ as fast as it should have, but it was finally time for our mini vacation, and I was looking forward to both the trip and my date with Ryou tomorrow.


	70. Ryou 19

I was so used to meeting Kek after work that it was a little strange to see Bakura's grinning face as he leaned against a maple tree growing out of the sidewalk. It was nice, though. The way the shadow and light from the tree mixed in his hair was lovely, and his eyes flashed as a bit of sunlight caught them. It was hard not to run up to him and leap into his arms, but I'd be too embarrassed to do that in public. Instead, I walked up beside him and bumped him with my shoulder.

"Hey you."

"Hey yourself." He returned the playful bump.

"Are you my chaperone for today?"

"Yup. Kek and Marik are already running off together, so I figured I'd meet you here."

"Let me go home and change, and then we'll be on our way."

Bakura nodded, and we started walking down the street. Bakura shoved his hands in his pockets. "So… it's been awhile since _we've_ worked on a game together."

"That's because you've been a little lazy about trying to kill the Pharaoh as of late."

"Well, sloth _is_ a sin. I should probably be more productive."

"Yeah?" I glanced over at him. "What did you have in mind?"

"A computer game. Something like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights, but based off of Monster World mechanics instead of D&D."

"That… does sound fun. Are you bringing this up because you want help?"

"You know me-" Bakura winked. "I never do anything without some self motivation, even asking cute guys on dates to internet cafes."

"Figures." I snorted, but I wasn't upset. It was the best sort of date for us. "Do you have a synopsis yet?"

"Of course not- that's your job, and then I'll draw the concept art."

"This is going to be like Battle City all over again where I never get any sleep."

"I promise not to stab you in the arm."

"You drive a hard bargain. Throw in a scalp massage and you have yourself a deal."

"Ryou." Bakura smirked. "Did you just negotiate to get a little something extra for yourself? I'm pretty proud of you."

"You're starting to rub off on me." I laughed.

"Rubbing you off _does_ sound like a good idea." He lidded his eyes as he stared at me.

Couldn't help the blush. Dammit. It sounded too good. We walked into the apartment, and Bakura followed me to our bedroom, sitting on the bed and staring at me with a smirk on his face. I gave him a pointed look- he knew I wanted to change- but I couldn't fake like I was annoyed when I wasn't. I fully intended to let him watch me change even though it'd just rile us both up.

Teasing the hem of my shirt, I folded it up over my head, tossing it in the general direction of the laundry hamper. I swayed my hips as the pants came off bit by bit. My boxers were the last thing to go, but I only pulled them down several centimeters before tugging them back up to my waist. Bakura frowned so hard that I laughed out loud at him. He flashed a wolfish grin, standing and stepping toward me with the intention of helping me out of the last of my clothes. I raised up a single finger to stop him. Even without a verbal no, he understood and sat back down with an exaggerated pout on his face.

I turned away from him, brushing my hair over my shoulder, dancing a little. I might have gotten a little carried away with the dancing. I'd been working so much, and I was so excited to go out, even just to storyboard our game and sip mochas at a café. The entire weekend stretched out before me. Three luscious days where I could do as much or as little as I wanted. I had no idea _what_ I would do- I wish I'd had known I was going to get an extra day off so I could have planned better, but whatever I ended up doing, I was glad to have the _time_ for it. Because I was so happy, I forgot myself for a moment as I danced in my bedroom in nothing but my underwear. I ran my hands down my hips, and flipped my hair. After a few minuetes, I glanced behind me to see Bakura's reaction. My cheeks flared like they'd been kissed by fire. Bakura was recording me on his phone.

Take a few videos of one or two special moments, and then all of a sudden people are making fun of you for having a director kink and filming you back! #rude

"Bakura."

"Had to share with the others." Bakura grinned as he swyped a message to Marik before sending over his clip of me.

I rushed out of the boxers and hurried into the outfit I'd picked for our date. The blush stayed on my face as I dressed. Not so much because I was embarrassed, but rather because I was hoping they responded positively when they saw it.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."

Bakura grinned as he stared at his phone. "Marik and Kek suddenly want to leave the zoo and come back here. Can't fathom why."

"Wipe that grin off your face. That strip-tease was for you." I said the words quickly as if embarrassed, but maybe I was playing coy.

 _Maybe_.

"All your friendship ways have changed me for the better, Ryou. Now I'm all about sharing with my… _friends_." He looked up to wink at me, but then he blinked instead. "What circus tent did you slaughter in order to make that jacket?"

"I like this jacket." I hugged it closer to my body.

It was beautiful! It had soft teal and turquoise blue plaid with darker purple trim, and I paired it with some lovely lavender corduroy pants. I felt really bad that I hadn't dressed up for my movie date with Marik, so I took great care to look nicer today- not that Bakura was grateful! He was looking at me like I was turning into a zombie before his eyes!

"Uh, sure." Bakura exhaled a sigh of long suffering.

I was going to give him a lecture, but he stood up and flung an arm around me, pulling us together so he could take a selfie and send it to Marik. I let the issue drop as we stood and stared at his screen until Marik's reply popped up. A gif appeared- a cartoon wolf whistling with his fingers. I was blushing again. Next there was a return pic of Kek and Marik. I could tell Marik had tried to take a serious picture, but Kek ruined it by nibbling against Marik's neck and making him laugh just as the camera had caught them. My whole world brightened for a moment. Marik's smile and laughter were always my favorite part of him, and they both looked so happy in the picture that my heart was screaming.

"I suddenly want them to leave the zoo and come back here, though I can't fathom why." I echoed Bakura's earlier words at him.

"Normally, I'd personally go pick them up and carry them back here, but not today. I have evil schemes. Oooops, did I say evil schemes? I meant plans for a happy date that has no ulterior motives whatsoever." Bakura cackled.

He cackled _The Bakura Cackle_. You know the one. I kept my expression unimpressed while I tried to figure out if Bakura was just satirizing himself, or actually covering up some sort of scheme. It was impossible to tell with him.

At least he wasn't going to try to kill the Pharaoh… I think. I mean… surely not? I mean, they'd been- not exactly getting along, but not actually _fighting_.

"Ryou, I'm not going to take over your body and try to murder your friends. Stop giving me that look!"

"I.. didn't _really think_ -"

"Give me _some_ credit. I wouldn't waste my time killing Atem when I know the gods will just send him right back to life."

"Oh, that's true." I didn't think he'd _actually_ \- but it was still nice to have a solid, logically reason to know he wouldn't. "Although if you ever did find a way to keep him dead. This is exactly how you'd act in order to lower my guard and-"

"Ryou!"

"What? You know it's true."

"There's like ten people on the planet that are actually good enough at playing duel monsters online to actually challenge me. I promise you, I'm not killing any of them."

"Yeah, you probably wouldn't."

"Now you're saying it to be facetious."

I giggled because it was true, and took his hand as we left the apartment. The internet cafê was cozy. It had a lot of light, but it was all wall sconces and lamps, giving the individual nooks a calm, private feel. We found a sofa behind a pretty screen full of painted ume blossoms. A warm smile spread across my face. I was confident that Bakura chose that spot in particular because the blossoms made him think of Marik, and the idea was so cute that I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from calling him out on it.

I set up our laptops as Bakura went to order drinks. He returned with a little tray. Two cups rose from the plastic sheet. I knew mine right away because of the extra whip cream piled on top. He'd also bought two eclairs.

"It was the closest I could find," Bakura said.

"To think I'd see the day when you were _thoughtful_. It's-" I didn't mean to choke myself up. I'd been joking, but it was a little overwhelming.

I used to wish with every fiber of my soul that everything hadn't been so… _damaged_ back then, when I had the Ring. But even in my grandest of dreams, I'd hoped for a cathartic conversation and maybe a good cry. I never imagined Bakura sitting next to me as he was, reaching up, bracing my cheek against his palm…

His gaze was so delicate, so affectionate, I almost wanted to ask where the real Bakura had gone off to. But that was the best part!

 _The real Bakura was the one in front of me._

It had been the other one that had been a shadow of him, a mask.

"I love you," I whispered.

Bakura grinned. He pulled his hand away and scratched the back of his head. "I love you too."

"So? You can't expect me to pull a story from thin air. At least give me some idea on what this game should be about."

"What's the best game you can imagine?" Bakura grinned. "If we were going to play this ourselves, what would be want to play?"

"I'm not sure. Honestly? My brain has been stuck in romance daydreams for the last few months."

"Did you just suggest romantic fantasy?" Bakura grinned. "Add a little comedy and you'll be describing my favorite genre."

"You add the comedy. I'd be sneaking horror elements wherever I could."

"So are we seducing monsters in this fantasy RPG?"

"I'm not opposed to seducing monsters." I took a well timed sip of my mocha, scooping the top of the whip cream up with my tongue. "You know what would really be fun?"

"What?"

"Nothing.I'm sorry. It was a dumb idea." I filled my mouth with more whipped cream, this time to avoid the conversation.

"Great, I love dumb ideas. Tell me." Bakura leaned forward. His nose was scrunched up in amusement. Damn him for being so cute.

I set my cup down, staring at the cream melt into the coffee. "Well… it's just that… I've been reading Kek's stories, right? About Rory, and… they're a little sensational, but I love them. I freaking _adore_ them. I'd love to play a game like that- about a rogue bard running around and having adventures, but you can choose between fighting or seducing the enemies? I mean, I guess if just the four of us are going to play it though-"

"Actually…" now it was Bakura turn to sit back and drink from his cup for dramatic pause. "How do you like the name Thief King Entertainment?"

"Sounds like a nice Friday night in the bedroom, why?" I asked, suspicious of course. It was Bakura I was talking to, and I knew him enough to know that something was up.

"As of Tuesday, that's been the name of the game developing company I started," Bakura answered.

"What?" I laughed because he obviously had to be joking.

"I put in my notice at Kaiba Corp. I am now the proud owner of an independent gaming company."

"Bakura, why would you do that?"

"Because." The cozy smile from before appeared back on his face. "I didn't think you'd quit your job for yourself if I offered to fund the project for you, but I was pretty sure you would do it for me if I needed the help."

"You can't just quit your- I can't quit my job either. To make a video game that no one would buy? That's insane- even for you."

"Who says no one will buy it? Rom/Com-Fantasy-Horror? I think this game's going to be amazing."

"Besides, it takes more than two people to make a game."

"That's utterly not true. Some of my favorite games are small and indy. Besides, there's four of us, assuming you join."

"You can't ask Kek to quit his job. Unlike me, he actually likes his job."

"So you admit that you don't like your job." Bakura snapped his fingers as if he'd just won lawyer of the year.

"Bakura."

"It's not Kek, or Marik. I wouldn't dream of taking either of them away from their jobs. Like you said, they enjoy what they do. It's _you_ we're all worried about. _You're_ the one stressing over a job you hate, for what? Take a risk, Ryou. Let's see what we can accomplish. The worst thing that happens is we fail and you go back to stocking balls of yarn and modeling clay."

My heart was racing. A game _sounded_ fun, but… It'd be so much work. And what if everyone hated it? And sure I was good at writing campaigns and I knew some code, but there was so much I didn't know about developing a game from the ground up. Gods, what about marketing? I had no clue how to promote my own creations.

But still…

Still…

"If it's not Kek and Marik, then who are the other two?"

"You're going to shit yourself when I tell you." Bakura chuckled.

"Are they well known?"

"Kinda? It's Yugi and Atem."

"No fucking way- ooops, sorry, I mean-"

Bakura broke into loud laughter. I motioned for him to quiet, but anyone could guess how successful _that_ was.

"It was kind of an accident. I was dueling Atem online, and making some Thief King jokes, and that's when I decided on the company name. Next thing I knew Atem was button smashing about how much he hated the mail room and trying to convince me that having the King of Games would be good for my company. I reminded him that _Yugi_ was actually the King of Games, then the next thing I know, my phones ringing- why on earth did you give Yugi my cell phone number anyway?"

"For emergencies." I frowned.

"Well, he used it for games."

"I'm not sure Yugi knows the difference." I groaned, thinking about some of the reasons why we were exes.

"Well, anyway, long story short- sometimes a video game developing family is two-millennia-old enemies and their destined vessels-turned-boyfriends, and why on earth are you hiding your face in your hands? I thought you'd be thrilled to spend more time with your friends."

I was hiding my face in my hands because everything about this was _crazy_.

"I'd need to put in a two week's notice," I said.

"I know. I think you should tell them to all go and fuck themselves, but I know you won't, so Monday morning, put in your notice and while you're standing at the cash register, start thinking about cheesy enemies-to-lovers clichés we can make fun of in our game."

"I can't breathe." I said, sipping on my coffee. I knew sugar and caffeine wouldn't help, but I needed something to do with my hands.

"Lay in my lap."

"I can't do that in public."

"No one will see behind the screen."

Bakura pulled my head into his lap. He started circling his thumbs at my temples. I sighed. My eyes fluttered shut. His fingers felt like a miracle fighting off the tension in my skull.

"This was part of our deal anyway." Bakura sounded amused when he spoke, but he kept his fingers gentle against my head. "If you don't really want to do it…"

"I can't believe you did all this for me." I covered my face with my hands again.

"If you're not confident to do stuff like this on your own- that's probably my fault…"

"Bakura. Don't." I looked up at him.

"I can't fix it if I don't accept it," he muttered.

"I don't want you to feel bad. I want…" I laughed. It was quiet, but I was very happy. I only kept it quiet because didn't want to bother anyone else working nearby. "This. This is more than I would have ever dreamed of in any lifetime. How should we start the game? What should be our first scene?"

"It should start with Rory getting run through with a sword and waking up in hell because of something they did in life."

"Bakura, that's awful. Why would we ever do that to Kek's character?"

"For starters, the first level will be hell, and you can feast your morbid little imagination on all kinds of quests before Rory escapes. Also, I think it'll be more interesting of a story if Rory starts a morally gray at best and builds up to be the kind of hero that saves the world by getting to final boss- or bosses- to fall in love with them."

I smiled. "That would be a beautiful story, wouldn't it? Okay." I sat up, grabbing my cellphone so I could go outside and make a phone call.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to call and quite right now."


	71. Kek 16

The video Bakura sent of Ryou had me fanning myself. That's probably why when Marik tried to send a photo, I couldn't help but nip at his throat. Well, that and the fact that I knew that I could get away with it. _Kehehehe._ After we swapped photos, we went and saw the Savanna animals first. Zebras and gazelles grazed, indifferent to us watching them. On the other end of the exhibit, giraffes where pulling leaves out of baskets fastened to the trees.

"Look, it's Seto Kaiba." I pointed at the tallest of the three giraffes.

"I don't see how you recognized him without a duel disk." Marik laughed.

The Savanna section bled into the big cats exhibit. I leaned against the safety rail near the lion pit.

"Now this one looks like me in the morning."

"I've heard them calling out at night to mark their territory," Marik said as he watched the lion swish his tail in a lazy rhythm.

"Do you like traveling all over Africa?"

"I do." He nodded. "I miss modern living sometimes while I'm out, but it's worth it."

"Are you getting antsy staying here for so long?" I turned away from the lions so I could look at Marik's face when he answered.

"Not yet." He smirked. "It's been a nice break, and the company functions fine without my presence. There's nothing I really have to do that can't be handled with a conference call or an email. I simply enjoy the field work."

"I understand."

And I did in my own way. It wasn't too much different from the gym. Get up early, work hard, build up other people even as you build up yourself. We looked at the tigers and cheetahs next. On our way to the penguins, Marik laced his fingers with mine. I grinned.

"Careful, we might get a few stern, disapproving looks."

"Oh no. Wouldn't want those." Marik winked at me.

Not that there was anyone else at the zoo. The weather was nice enough. Hot, but clear and bright, but aside from an old couple sitting on a bench near the monkeys, we had the place to ourselves. We wandered to the penguins and from there went indoors to the snow exhibit. I lingered at the polar bear pool. I wanted to run my hands over the bear's face like he was one of the kittens, but even I'm not that much of a masochist. After the chill of the arctic section, the sun felt even brighter and hotter against our arms and faces. Marik put on a pair of sunglasses to cut the glare.

"Don't you have a pair?" he asked.

"I haven't really needed a pair until now." I shrugged. "You know how those other two nerds are."

"Are we referring to the two nerds that decided to work on a video game for their date?" Marik raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, guess you haven't gotten outside much since you've been back. Don't worry. I'll help fix that."

The statement made me feel oddly soft and cozy inside. Like that little piece of me that was upset when he didn't show up that first day was finally, after all this time, at ease. I saw a vendor selling popsicles out of a cart, and I ran and bought two, bringing a purple one back to Marik.

"I could have bought them." He frowned, but accepted the little gift.

I shook my head. "You paid for the tickets."

"Fine, I'll just buy you a pair of sunglasses instead." Marik gave me a haughty look as he unwrapped the popsicle and sucked on it with no amount of subtlety.

"Fine but you have to actually gift wrap it, or I won't accept it."

He was challenging the wrong man at a sensual licking contest. He did not yet know how great I was at- wait, he really didn't know. Hah! Perhaps I'd show him this weekend. I wasn't sure how far Marik intended to take things while we were away, but he'd only reserved a single room, and he'd been giving both me and Bakura _some looks_ all afternoon before we split up. Knowing my old self as well as I did, I knew this wasn't going to be a platonic slumber party.

But all that could wait because for the moment I was busy swirling my tongue around the tip of the red popsicle I'd bought for myself. Marik smiled around his own ice pop as he watched me flutter my tongue against the top.

"Keep licking it like that and it's going to melt."

"They always do." I answered, running my tongue along the popsicle length.

Marik watched in fascination until a thought made him blink and refocus on _me_ (instead of my tongue).

"You said you wanted it gift wrapped."

"Uh, huh? Is that an innuendo?"

"The sunglasses," Marik snorted. "I guess you've never really had a chance to get a proper present, have you?"

"Ryou made me a boxing robe for my fight. He and Bakura put it in a box for me."

"Oh good. It bothered me to think that you'd never gotten a wrapped present before." Marik sighed in relief.

"Don't worry. They took care of me while we were all waiting for you." I sucked on my popsicle with the intention of actually eating it now instead of blowing it.

I realized that my statement was true despite the fact that I had said it to be flirty- as if all of us were waiting on him, and not just Bakura. But actually? We were. It'd been such a huge part of why Ma'at sent Bakura back, and always on Bakura's mind, that it had affected all of us.

We tossed the sticks in a nearby waste bin and continued walking. The next area was the reptile exhibit. Marik took one look inside the dark building, wrinkled his nose, and marched over to the aviarium instead. After that we saw bears, a desert area, a rainforest area, and a the elephant pen. Marik checked his phone.

"It's probably time to head to the airport."

"How's Bakura going to get over there without telling Ryou what we're up to?"

"Like this." Marik hummed as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Bakura's number. He looked up into the sky. Ra flashed against the lenses of his sunglasses. "Hey, Bakura? Yeah, I left my sunglasses on the plane. Could you swing by and get them for me? Yes... of course I need them right away… yeah I know it'll be dark in a few hours, but they're Hugo's, so I need them with me at all times... for the aesthetic, asshole, just go and get them off the plane before taking Ryou home. Thanks~"

I could hear Bakura shouting on the other ended during each of Marik's pauses. I couldn't help shaking my head.

"That sounded realistic. Did you two rehearse that?"

"No, Bakura just reacts far too easily." Marik grinned.

"At least Ryou won't suspect anything when they detour away from the apartment."

Marik took my hand again, bumping our shoulders together as we walked toward the exit. I caught sight of a small, red, barn-like building by chance right before we left.

"What's that?"

"That? Petting zoo, I think." Marik glanced at it as he walked, but I tugged him in that direction.

"Petting zoo? Like, animals we actually get to pet? I have to see this." I ran to the barn and through the gate meant to keep the animals in. Behind the building were various sheep, goats, stray birds, and two fawns.

"It smells awful back here." Marik wrinkled his face.

"Who cares, look at them!"

I dropped down to my knees, and one of the sheep ran right up to me. I wrapped my arms around him and ran my fingers through his thick wool coat. The others were joining in, surrounding me.

"It's like they know I'm the one that usually gives the cats their food." I laughed as one of the goats started chewing on a strip of my hair.

"Actually…" Marik looked around until he found a machine that allowed you to drop in yen and then fill a bucket full of grain. Marik paid for two buckets worth, and brought them over to me. "Here."

The animals rushed around him. Marik's eyes went wide and his body stiffened. I could tell he was nervous.

"Uh, Kek. Take these buckets." Marik raised them up overhead so they couldn't be knocked over by the swarm. "Hurry, these guys are getting dirt on my pants."

"I know you're not afraid of a little dirt."

I grabbed him around the legs and pulled him down to my lap. Marik screamed as he tumbled forward, but I caught him and made sure he didn't hit the ground. Some of the grain spilled out of the buckets and the animals dogpiled us, each fighting for as much of the grain as possible. Marik shrieked in laughter as all the fur, feathers, and wool tickled his arms. I took one of the buckets, and held Marik to my chest with my free arm- keeping him close so if something happened I could protect him.

Marik dropped his empty bucket, and half hid against me, but he was still laughing so I continued sitting in the middle of the feeding frenzy with him. I was giggling with him, but I couldn't pay attention to the animals because I couldn't take my stare away from Marik. HIs hair was blown around his face, and a few stays bits of hay had found their way into the strands. His skin was glowing from laughter, and I held him a little closer against me.

"We're going to look awful when we see them."

"The hotel will have showers." I shrugged, dropping my bucket after the last of the grain was eaten. One of the goats shouted a protest at the fact that all their food was gone, and my favorite sheep gave me a little head butt. I turned back to Marik. "Aren't you going to pet them?"

"They're not as cute as kittens." Marik reached out his hand. One of the fawns sat close and Marik skimmed his fingertips along his spotted coat.

"Yes they are. I love them. Buy me a petting zoo for my birthday, Marik."

"Okay," Marik said as if I'd asked for another popsicle instead of an actual petting zoo.

"Uh, don't really do that. The litter box is bad enough. I don't want to see what these guys get up to."

"I promised Bakura a horse. Do you want a horse? You'd have to keep him at a stable, but you could visit and ride him."

I mean… I never _thought_ about horses before, but now that one was getting offered to me... Yeah, I kinda did want one, but I shook my head no and laughed. I think I'd rather just pet Bakura's horse and stick to pets that could sleep by my feet at night. I made sure to pat each animal before finally brushing off all the dirt and hay from my jeans. The animals were still swarming around us in hopes of another snack, so I scooped Marik into my arms and carried him.

"It's about time I get the service I deserve." Marik grin. "Bakura always makes me walk like a peasant."

I flashed him a grin, setting him down on the other side of the fence and then jumping over myself. We walked out of the exit and found our bike in the parking lot.

"Here." I shoved the keys into his hand.

"Don't you want to drive it?" Marik asked.

"Eh, I'd rather be behind you." I winked at him.

"Would you now?" Marik hummed as he mounted the back.

I got behind him. If this was one of the stories I've been writing for Rory, I'd be wrapping my arms around Marik's waist, and nuzzling the nape of his neck, and begging him to go as fast as he could, but being that we were on a motorcycle instead of a horse, we had on helmets, and we were in Domino City instead of some fantasy world, I rested my hands on his sides at a respectable distance, and let him drive us without any cute "moments."

I'd never seen the plane before. He always took the boat when we were connected. We hadn't even taken to luggage to the plane before we went to the zoo. Marik had "staff" come and pick it up, but I recognized one of said "staff" from the old days. Though I'll admit, he looked much more lively than the last time I'd seen him- which had been with the glazed-over, vacant stare of people that have been under the Rod's control for too long. I wondered what made him stay after all that, but didn't want to ask Marik before our date.

The interior was as swaggy as one would imagine the inside of a private jet owned by Marik Ishtar to be. It had couched lining the sides and the back area had a bed and a bathroom, and I was sure the bathroom wasn't the closet sized porta-potty that I often heard people complain about when they spoke of flying.

"I have to at least change my clothes. I feel like I smell like goat."

"You have hay in your hair." I snickered.

Marik frowned trying to comb his hair with his fingers as he walked to the back of the jet. "Do I? Help me get it all out- it's your fault it's there in the first place."

"Only if you help me with mine."

I decided I wanted to change before Bakura and Ryou showed up as well, so I walked to the back, found my bag, and pulled off my shirt. Marik was already completely nude. With a smirk I knew very well, he walked up to me and started tugging at bits of my hair.

Oh yeah… hair pulling. My favorite thing. Maybe I should have asked Ryou to do it instead, because now my hands were clutching at Marik's hips and I didn't think I had the willpower to let go. Instead, I closed my eyes and enjoyed myself. Then Marik started fluffing up my spikes instead of tugging, so I figured he was done. Opening my eyes again, I looked at him and saw him smiling and looking back at me.

"Be more gentle with me."

Yes, of course. There was a time when I would have savored his cry of pain as I pulled that pretty hair right out of his scalp- but that was another lifetime ago. Like the phoenix on the back of my boxing robe, I'd come back, and changed, and now I was gliding my fingers through Marik's hair with deliberate strokes, and unwinding the hay from his locks as if Marik were made of glass. His eyes shut as well, and a soft coo escaped him. Once all the hay was gone from his hair, I couldn't help leaning in and hovering my lips just over his.

I held there, out of reach, until Marik grabbed the two front belt loops of my pants. I dragged my bottom lip across his, so much smoother than that hard, desperate first kiss with Bakura oh so long ago. Marik's hands pressed up my stomach and chest. I kneaded into his back with my fingertips, and it took a moment to remember that I was technically in the middle of changing.

I licked my lips as I pulled away, grabbing a change of clothes from my bag before swapping out. Marik sighed as he got dressed. He stuck his sunglasses on top of his head as he walked out of the back area.

"What's taking them so long? They should have been here before us."

"I brought cards if you want a duel."

"I want our Bakuras to get here before-"

Bakura popped in right at that moment. "Quit nagging, i can hear you all the way down the runway."

"It's about time you showed up."

"Oh good. You found your glasses." Ryou gestured to the top of Marik's head.

"What?" Marik blinked a second. "Oh yeah, right. No thanks to Bakura."

"It's not _my_ fault I drive the speed limit while you zip through traffic like you have extra lives stashed in your back pocket!"

"You knew what time we were supposed to meet here. You should have left earlier."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "We're only five minutes late. This is suppose to be a three day weekend- not bootcamp. I didn't bother synchronizing watches."

"Um… excuse me."

Marik ignore Ryou as he continued to lay into Bakura. "You still have to be on time for a flight. We can't take off whenever. They have to schedule it with the other planes."

"Um, flight? Should Kek and I leave?" Ryou asked, not yet understanding that we were all going together. I sat down and continued to watch the show.

Bakura spoke to Marik instead of Ryou. "If the time window is that small, then why didn't you have me meet you here earlier?"

"I thought you had enough common sense to be here on time!"

"Okay then. I guess Kek and I will just see ourselves out. You two have fun on your trip." Ryou spun around to leave, but Bakura grabbed his arm and tugged him back to his side.

"Hold on, don't go yet."

"But if you're going to be late-"

"No, it's okay." Marik grabbed Ryou's other arm and helped Bakura pull Ryou over to the couch next to me.

"Well that was entertaining." I snorted, buckling my seat belt.

"You should buckle up as well, Ryou." Marik grinned as he and Bakura clicked the belt around Ryou's waist.

Ryou's mouth dropped. "You bastards set me up. I thought it was rather strange that they scheduled me for three days off in a row."

"Not strange considering that I bribed your manager." Marik sat down next to Ryou's other side and put on his own seat belt.

"But I don't have-"

"Actually, I already packed everything you needed." I kissed Ryou's cheek.

"But the kittens-"

"Gave Yugi a spare key and a feeding schedule. He'll check on them twice a day." Bakura shot Ryou with his finger.

"Well… where are we going?" Ryou's face turned bright pink, but I could tell that he was flustered in a happy sort of way- not pissy.

"Tokyo, for tonight, but tomorrow morning we'll travel to Iritahama and spend the day at the beach." Marik kissed Ryou's other cheek.

His blush went from sakura blossom to tsubaki. He was giggling as hard as he was blushing, and I could almost scream I was so happy watching him like that.

"I can't believe you guys set this all up behind my back. Thank you!"


	72. Marik 17

The flight was short, and the hotel was a quick cab trip from the airport. I smiled to myself as we rode the elevator up to the top floor. I had a surprise waiting for them in our room- they were about to be smothered in flowers- and I hoped they picked up on the symbolism behind me filling the room up with bouquets. Or at least, I hoped they enjoyed the flowers, but both Bakura and Ryou seemed to be cryptic types when it came to expressing things, so I figured they would understand.

"This is the slowest elevator in creation." Bakura kicked at the side panel for something to do.

Really, you'd think it was Kek that would act out, but no- Bakura. I was about to snap at him to act civilly. There were cameras in the elevators and I didn't want a cleaning bill for scuffed paneling. Fortunately, Ryou solved the problem by wrapping his arms around Bakura and pulling him into his chest as a distraction. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was impressed by the way he defused our argument well before it began, or disappointed. In either case, the elevator doors soon opened and we walked to the very end of the hall. The top floor was divided into five suites, and ours was the largest among them. I swiped the keycard in front of the door. It flashed green and clicked. I made sure the others entered first, following behind them so I could see their reactions to the room.

Kek looked around. He was used to my tastes, so I didn't expect him to be surprised. Bakura whistled. He was also getting used to my tastes, although this was much more grand than the hotel in which we were staying in Domino. Ryou covered his mouth with his hands and gasped. From the doorway, we could see a small entertaining area and kitchenette. There were four covered trays waiting on the counter because I pre-ordered room service from the cab. Beyond the sofa and entertainment center sat the bedroom. I could see several of the bouquets scattered around already, although the bulk of them were supposed to be surrounding the bed.

It was Kek who walked to the first batch of flowers. He ran his fingers across the white petals of a rose first, and then the yellow of a sunflower. There were lilacs and maroon calla lilies in that batch as well. The cluster on the kitchen counter had lavender and gardenias, mixed in with red and yellow dahlias. Each bouquet was like that, a mix of yellow, white, red, and purple. I held my breath, hoping someone would say it out loud, what they represented. Bakura laced his fingers with mine. I knew he _got it_ , but I still wanted to hear them _say it_.

"They're so beautiful." Ryou sat on the sofa so he could lean forward and suck in their mixed scents. He raised up a hand and played with the lilac blossoms.

"There's more in the bedroom," I said, prompting them.

"Oh, are there?" Bakura grinned beside me.

I nudged him with my elbow. I was… nervous. I couldn't understand why I was so nervous. It wasn't like we weren't already dating, but this was… me trying to make it official, and I was worried that Bakura would notice how clammy my hands were.

"I can't help but notice a certain color scheme in each vase." Ryou looked up, his brown eyes burrowing right into me.

"Is there?" I asked, playing coy because I wanted to hear them say it instead of explaining it to them.

"Am I reading too much into that?" Ryou asked.

He and Kek looked nervous too. Good. I didn't want to be the only one. Bakura grinned as he watched us. Fuck him for being so easygoing when my heart was revolting against my ribcage.

"No, you're not," I answered.

"You look cute when you blush," Bakura whispered.

"Shut up," I whispered back at him.

"What do you think we are?" Kek ran over to us, hoisting me into the air and spinning me in a circle. "A bouquet of flowers or something?"

"I would like it." Ryou stood up. "If we were."

"It's what I was suggesting." I grinned at Kek as he set me down.

He swooped in for a kiss quicker than I could plan for, managing to draw a brief whimper from me. At the same time he pulled Bakura to our side, stooping lower to kiss him as well. He shot a look over his shoulder.

"Dammit, Ryou. Set down that camera and get over here. We're not a full bouquet without you."

"Hold on, hold on." Ryou set up the camera against the vase so it could record without him holding it. He made sure we were in frame before running to join us. "I definitely want to keep a copy of this moment."

Ryou flung his arms around us as far as he could reach. I stood there, buried in our shared heat. The scent from so many bouquets drifted over to us. I felt like I needed to scream, or jump in the air, or stomp my feet, or do _something_. Something to get all the excess joy out of my system. I felt wired in a way that not even the power of the Rod could emulate. A loud sigh escaped me, and I felt a hot, wet trickle against my cheek. I looked up and saw tears shining against Kek's face.

"Hey." I brushed the back of my hand against his cheek to wipe away the tears.

"I'm just happy." Kek pulled back from the group and rubbed the tears off of his other cheek.

"You're going to make me cry, too." Ryou blinked his eyes, sniffing a little.

"Dumbass." Bakura wrapped his arms around Kek and buried his face in Kek's chest.

I combed my hair out of my face, trying to think of something to say, but I was speechless. Kek leaned forward so he could grab me and pull me back into our group hug. No one had to tell Ryou to join this time. Instead of crying, I started giggling, but it was for the same reason. My laughter spread like flames until all four of us were hysterical in each other's arms. Bakura dropped to his ass on the floor, and the rest of us sank down with him. We sat in a huddle, laughing for a long time, but none of us were in a hurry to stop. When the mirth bubbled away from my chest, at least enough to breathe, I pushed myself to my feet again.

"I ordered something different for everyone. Mine and Bakura's information game came in handy. I didn't have to guess what everyone wanted to eat." I walked over to the silver trays. I grabbed the first one and handed it to Bakura while taking a second over to the coffee table near the sofa.

"How do I look?" Kek snapped one of the sunflowers away and stuck it in his hair.

"Like a Sunflora." Bakura blew him a kiss.

"You look radiant," Ryou corrected as he turned off his phone and grabbed the last two trays.

We each had something different. Bakura's plate was pork loin wrapped in bacon- fucking heathen- with a loaded baked potato on the side. Ryou had sushi with a side plate of chocolate dipped strawberries and another side plate of with half a dozen cream puffs. Kek's plate had grilled salmon with steamed broccoli, green beans, and half a sweet potato.

"Sorry it's not fancier." I shrugged.

"This is perfect. I don't have to stress out about my macros." He grinned up at me.

"He's right, Marik. You did an amazing job. Thank you so much!" Ryou ate the strawberries first.

Bakura tried to agree, but his mouth was full, so he only mumbled something I couldn't catch. I shook my head at Bakura, but I couldn't help but grin. He was too precious. My own dinner was a seitan dish that I wanted to try served with rice and vegetables.

"The hotel room is beautiful," Ryou said as he finished eating.

"When we get back from the beach tomorrow I'll have to show you the gardens. Oh, but look at this." I set my empty plate down and led them into the bedroom.

"Whoa, Marik, that's _a lot of flowers_." Bakura looked around the different sized vases and flower arrangements.

"I got excited when I ordered them." I waved Bakura's statement away. That wasn't what I was trying to show them.

To our right, hidden by a support wall, were half a dozen quartz steps leading up to a dais. More flowers and tall pillar candles surrounded the border of the dais.

"Is that a hot tub?" Ryou asked.

"Yes." I grinned. "And don't worry, Kek and I made sure we packed swim trunks for everyone."

"Swim trunks are for the beach." Bakura marched forward, stripping himself bare. "What's the point of having a private hot tub if you don't use it for skinny dipping?"

"I like how Bakura thinks." Kek ripped his shirt up over his head.

"Well, I suppose it will be easier to dress for the beach tomorrow if our shorts aren't wet from being used tonight." Ryou glanced at me to get my opinion.

He had a good point. Even if we hung our shorts up in the bathroom, they wouldn't dry by morning. The hotel had laundry service, but it was already late and I didn't feel like calling anyone to pick up a bag of wet clothes. Perhaps more importantly, Bakura and Kek's naked bodies were making their own compelling arguments for skinny dipping as they bent down and figured out how to turn on the jets. I couldn't bring myself to argue against the evidence they were presenting, and instead decided to pull off my own shirt.

"Fuck it." I unzipped my pants.

"Hurry up." Bakura stepped into the foaming water as Ryou and I raced to take off our clothes.

Ryou twisted his hair into a knot before sitting next to Kek. Bakura and I took the other side. I tilted my head up and moaned. The hot water and the pressure of the jets relaxed all the muscles in my back.

"Here are some matches." Ryou stood back up and grabbed the box of long stemmed matches so he could light the candles surrounding us.

Bakura pinched his ass as he passed. Ryou giggled, and pretended to slap Bakura's hand away, but decided to light the candle near Bakura's head by straddling Bakura's lap and leaning over his shoulder. Bakura grabbed Ryou's face and kissed him as the match burned out. I bit my lower lip as I watched, glad to have the jets going to hide my growing erection under a layer of bubbling water.

Not that it was a big deal. The entire point of the bouquets was to let them know that, but I was still nervous. An excited, anticipatory form of nervous. I was looking forward to it so much that I didn't think I could go through with it. Except watching my two Bakuras making out in a hot tub made me want to stop procrastinating and get things going.

"Bakura! I'm trying to light the candles." Ryou laughed as he lit another match and finished the circle.

"You were lighting mine just fine."

"Lines like that are why you still can't seduce Rory." Kek clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"What? That didn't ignite your interest?"

"Kek, don't let him get started. Shut him up now before he thinks of another one."

"Shut him up you say." Kek glided through the water and sat between us.

"No, I don't want kisses. I want puns." Bakura swam out of Kek's grasp.

They chased each other. I pulled my legs back, so my feet wouldn't get stepped on. After a few rotations around the hot tub, Kek grabbed Bakura and lifted him out of the water. Drops flashed off of Bakura's body in the candlelight.

"Now that I've _caught_ your attention. I suppose it's time for your _pun_ -ishment."

"Oh gods. Okay. Please kiss me now."

Kek lowered Bakura down enough to capture his lips before setting him down into the water again. I couldn't help but giggle at how much higher the water came up on Bakura compared to Kek. I tapped the tip of my chin with my pointer finger.

"You know, I think everyone's kissed Bakura except me."

"You can have him. I'm done with him." Kek picked Bakura up again and set him down in my lap.

He flipped Kek off, probably because of how easily Kek was able to handle him, but I stole his attention when I grabbed his face and turned it toward me. When we finally broke for air, I noticed Kek and Ryou huddled together talking in soft voices.

"What are you two conspiring over there?" Bakura asked.

"I was telling Kek about some of the games Yugi liked to play at parties."

"Like Duel Monsters?" I asked.

Ryou and Kek started giggling.

"What?"

"Like seven minutes in heaven," Ryou said.

I only vaguely knew what that was because of television. I smirked as I got an idea. "Have you noticed the bathroom?"

"Not really?" Ryou glanced over to the wall.

"Not that side. It's a regular wall," I explained. "But if you walk over to the head of the bed, you'll notice that the wall in front of the shower cubicle is clear glass."

"Nice." Bakura tried to lean back to get a glimpse, but couldn't see from the hot tub. "So are we going to play Seven Minutes in Heaven in a see-through shower?"

"I think we should play that one tomorrow." Ryou had a look that could almost be devious. At least, if Bakura still controlled his body it could be. On Ryou alone it looked demure instead. "Tonight we can play, well Jonouchi used to call it 'Playing Chicken,' but I always hated that name because it sounded like we were going to kiss chickens."

"We could rebrand it 'Playing Cock,' that sounds much more appealing." Bakura wagged his eyebrows at Ryou.

"Whoever faces Bakura needs to bind his hands- he cheats." Ryou smiled, and yes, it was definitely demure. "The rules are simple. Two of us will kiss, and the first person to break away loses. They have to go to the end of the line and then the next person tries. Kek and I will start, and to keep it simple, Bakura is the first challenger because he's closer. Sound good?"

"Sounds a hell of a lot better than Duel Monsters." Bakura snorted.

I winked, leaning against the jets again to make myself comfortable while I watched the show. Ryou grabbed Kek by the hair and pulled them together. His fingers tugged while they kissed and Kek whimpered against Ryou's mouth. Their breaths came out in quick puffs through their nostrils, and I could tell that Kek was struggling not to open his mouth and cry out. He was able to hold out until Ryou raked his nails down Kek's cheek. With a savage growl, Kek climbed into Ryou's lap and started sucking against Ryou's throat. I bit the knuckle of my pointer finger, resisting the urge to mimic the scene with Bakura, who was the only one in reach.

"Kek…" Ryou gasped. "Kek, you lost."

"What?" Kek asked between bites along Ryou's neck.

"You broke the kiss. It's Bakura's turn."

"What? No, but… ah _fuck_." Kek pushed himself back and swam over to me.

He nestled right up beside me. Our thighs brushed together and the light touch sent sparks racing up my nerves, but he didn't reach out to touch me. No, this was a game, and each one of us wanted to see if we could win, so we kept our gazes trained on Bakura and Ryou instead of groping for each other. Bakura laced his fingers with Ryou's. Ryou dove in for a rough kiss, still worked up from Kek, but Bakura pulled back.

"This isn't a race." Bakura brushed their noses together.

Ryou whined, wanting Bakura to hurry, but Bakura had his eyes closed and his face relaxed. I didn't even think he was focusing on kissing, simply brushing his nose across Ryou's face. I watched a few videos, so I already had somewhat of an idea of what to expect from all of them as lovers, but this kissing game was an invaluable insight to how each of them worked. Kek loved his hair being pulled, and Ryou loved instigating Kek until he couldn't control himself and forgot to be gentle. It was easy to imagine how Kek had earned the extra scars on his back from Ryou's nails.

Bakura was the opposite. He acted like a playboy, but he was all talk. What Bakura truly coveted was the most gentle of touches. I already knew his favorite position was sex while spooning, and even the kisses he was starting to work against Ryou's mouth were tender, quiet, deliberate things. Bakura kissed like he planned, subtle and meticulous, each one was intentional, but if Ryou surprised him he was able to adapt and bring their lips back to a graceful dance. It was arousing to watch, but beyond that- it was fascinating- being able to watch Bakura from the outside and appreciate it, enjoy it even, almost as much as if I were kissing him myself.

Ryou's face was bright pink from the heat of the water and the heat of the moment. He squirmed to break his hands free, but Bakura was following Ryou's advice. He was binding _Bakura's_ hands because _Bakura_ was prone to cheat. Ryou was never specific on which Bakura liked to cheat, and with their hands held, Ryou couldn't touch Bakura and drive him onward with lust like he had Kek. Ryou's whimpers were desperate as Bakura swirled his tongue into Ryou's mouth. He pulled back enough to suck on Ryou's bottom lip without breaking their contact, and Ryou gasped.

"Bakura," Ryou moaned, and the syllables were enough to part them completely, making Ryou lose the match. Ryou blinked, realized what he'd done, and snapped his fingers. "Fuck."

I laughed. I think it was the first time I had ever heard Ryou say fuck- except in a few of the videos Bakura had shown me. He swam over to Kek and rested his head on Kek's shoulder as Kek giggled, clearly happy that Bakura had dethroned Ryou from his victory seat.

But now it was time for the real king to enter the arena, and I had never lost to Bakura in a battle of edging. This was going to be cake.

I glided through to water toward Bakura, resting my hands on his shoulders. Bakura cupped his hands against the small of my back, giving me the same nuzzling treatment he'd given Ryou, but I was prepared for it. I knew he was going to play a slow game, and I was ready to savor each brush of lips, giving as good as I got.

But what I didn't account for was how relaxed the hot water would have my back, and how worked up I really was from watching the others kiss. It was easy enough for the first minute, but each brush of lips, each drag of Bakura's fingers down my scars, had me going out of my mind. I pinched Bakura's nipples, twisting and tugging and flicking them. Bakura grunted. I felt hot puffs of air against my face as we both panted through our noses, but neither of us broke our kiss.

The need for air consumed me, but at the same time, I didn't want to stop. Bakura's lips were soft and supple against my own. His body writhed beneath my touch. I wanted to be inside him so much that it made my balls hurt. Perhaps that was why I reached between his legs and started fondling his. Bakura pushed an _mmmmmmmm_ into my lips, but didn't break our kiss. His fingers kneaded into my back as he hitched against my hand.

And that was my own undoing, getting Bakura worked up enough to knead my back like he was dying to touch me. I couldn't help but arch and call out. The game be damned- I needed to gasp for breath as he continued to knead my back. Defeated, I dropped lower into the water, leaning against the side of the hot tub so I could catch my breath.

"He knew your only weakness, Marik." Kek laughed, crawling over me to reach Bakura. He licked his lips. "Round Two."

"Bring it." Bakura shoved Kek back while he was still half on top of me.

It was tempting to reach up and brush Kek's scars, but I didn't want to give Bakura an advantage when he'd already won twice in a row, so I slipped out from beneath them and sat next to Ryou.

"Who do you think will win?" I whispered.

Ryou studied both of them for a moment as they swirled their tongues together. "Bakura. Kek's already too eager."

I nodded, agreeing. Kek was in Bakura's lap and bucking against him. Bakura tugged at Kek's hair. The sunflower toppled into the water and bobbed on top of the foamy bubbles. Kek growled and grabbed Bakura's face. He kissed him, kissed him, and kissed him again, pulling apart each time before diving back in. Bakura laughed. Both of their faces were a little rosey despite their complexion.

"I don't care. It was worth losing to kiss you how I wanted to." Kek licked his way back into Bakura's mouth for a moment before diving below the surface of the water and appearing back on our side.

"Are we a little worked up?" I smirked at him.

"I'm in too good of a mood to play this stupid game. Come here." Kek grabbed me and pushed his tongue into my mouth.

We kissed, leaning over Ryou's lap. I figured it was good practice, and tried to go as long as I could without breathing, but after a quick, hot flash of time we were both pulling away to suck in ragged breaths.

"They should get a penalty game for that." Bakura leaned against a jet, looking smug.

"Like what?" Ryou asked.

"I don't know. I'll think of something later."

"I don't think Penalty Games get rain checks." Ryou laughed, walking over to Bakura and sitting side-saddle in his lap.

"Ready to lose again?" Bakura brushed a wet strip of hair away from Ryou's face.

"I'm so happy, I don't really care who wins or loses anymore." Ryou pulled Bakura's face down into a sweet kiss.

I glanced at Kek, a little relieved to see the same dazed, aroused look in his eyes that I knew I had. The light from the hot tub and the dozen candles lit up their hair as they kissed and the colors that played against the white strands were breathtaking. Both Ryou and Bakura brushed their fingers along little hidden paths on top of their skin. My chest hurt. I exhaled and inhaled again, reminding myself to breathe while I could because I was next in line.

Ryou wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck as they kneaded their lips together. Ryou must have brushed against Bakura's cock because Bakura tossed back his head and gasped, trembling as if he were on the verge of orgasm. He probably was. I know a few good strokes would be all it would take to get me off at the moment, and the way both Ryou and Bakura panted in each other's arms I figured they were as far gone as me.

"I busted your winning streak." Ryou smiled.

Bakura kissed the tip of Ryou's nose, and laughed as Ryou rubbed his nose as if Bakura's lips had tickled. Then it was my turn again, and I realized I was ready for the game to end. I pushed myself through the water. I knew Ryou liked things a little rough, and I was suddenly in a mood to indulge him. I lifted Ryou up and sat him down between two candles, then I shoved him back and pinned his arms above his head.

"Marik," Ryou gasped before we began. His eyes were wide, dark, gorgeous.

Yes, I've stared at those eyes before, and that mouth, and I've wanted to kiss it, as far back as that first time when I thought of it as Bakura's mouth. Ryou's feet stayed in the water, but the rest of him was lying against the quartz platform. I crawled out of the hottub, pressing my weight _down_ against his cock.

" _Oh Marik_ ," Ryou moaned.

It was so sweet, his moan, his blushing face, his dilated eyes. Everything about him was so sweet, a thick slab of halva begging to be devoured. I hitched against him again, claiming his mouth for my own pleasure. He melted against me, dissolved like sugar in hot, black tea. I was half aware that I was cheating, that it was a kissing game and not a grinding game, but I was overcome with instinct and allowed my body to do what it wanted do, and Ryou rewarded me with upward hitches of his hips.

Bakura and Kek were cheering us on, shouting out directions and commenting on how good we looked. I drank that in as well; my face burned as I saw them out of the corner of my vision creeping close. My hips started working faster. It was harder to keep our lips together, but I managed. I wasn't sure how much longer I could last before the bucking became more important than keeping contact with our lips, but then Ryou turned his head.

"I forfeit." His chest heaved as he caught his breath.

"Ryou! Are you nuts?" Bakura shouted from beside us.

"What?" I was breathing hard, but dammit I hadn't wanted to stop. "Are you okay?"

"I was about to… uh, I was going to…" Ryou squirmed beneath me, a mix of lust and shyness.

"Didn't you want to?" I asked, easing up most of the pressure on out cocks. Water dripped from the tips of my hair onto Ryou's chest.

"Yes," Ryou gasped. Looking at me had somehow managing to coax a bit more blush onto his already burning cheeks. "Very much so. But I, I was trying to go a little slower than normal. You were so confused a few months ago, and I'm very happy now, but I don't want you to look back at this in a few weeks and wonder if we rushed things." Ryou shrugged. "That's why I suggested a kissing game. Something that would let us ease into things, you know?"

"Ryou, you're so thoughtful." I ghosted our lips together.

Although I was calm on the outside, inside I was screaming _Idiot! Now I want to sleep with you even more!_

And it was true. Feeding animals with Kek, and watching Bakura kiss them, and Ryou worrying about my feelings even when I was out of my mind with raw desire… it made me want to drag them all to the mattress only a few feet away.

But I knew Ryou was right. Kissing was good. Exploring was good. I wasn't leaving them (ever). We had plenty of time to see how many positions the four of us could get into. Kissing was nice-

No, who am I kidding? I really wanted to fucking come right then and there. Patience is for suckers.

"I have an idea." Bakura got out of the water and turned off the jet. He grabbed a towel from a nearby stand and wrapped it around his waist. "Let's get Marik's money's worth out of that fancy shower. We'll go in order of wins, so me, Ryou, Marik, then Kek."

"I don't know what you have in mind, but we should go in reverse order." Kek ran a towel over his hair.

"Haha! No, fuck you. I won, I'm going first."

"What _are_ we doing?" I asked.

"Oh, you'll _see_ what I'm talking about." Bakura went into the bathroom. I could hear the door locking behind him.

Curious, we all wrapped ourselves in towels and pulled up chairs to the clear glass where Bakura was starting a shower. He soaped up and rinsed himself off quickly. It was sexy, but I didn't see the point- until he winked at us, blew us a kiss, grabbed his cock, and started stroking himself.

"Ah, teasing bitch," Kek swore under his breath. "I'm going last. This is going to be torture."

"This is some gorgeous torture." I smirked. Fuck, going third _was_ going to suck, but at least I'd have two great shows before I could finally get rid of the built up tension.

Bakura dropped to his knees, his palm against the glass. He was already getting close, too turned on from before to last long. I knelt on the other side of the window, pressing my palm so that it lined up with his. Bakura looked up at me, his eyes unfocused with pleasure. I smiled at him, and mouthed _I love you_ at him through the glass. He grinned as his eyes fluttered shut, face twisting into a knot as he came.

The shower took care of the clean up and Bakura leaned against the glass and recovered. Water dripped down his hair and spots trickled against the glass. With a sudden burst of energy, Bakura kissed the pane between us and then jumped up. He turned off the water, and appeared a moment later in a fresh towel.

"Teasing bitch," Kek repeated.

"Sounds like someone is upset about having to go last." Bakura smirked.

"I don't have to go last if you come over here and take care of me while I watch Ryou's shower."

"Sorry, I already came, and didn't I say you two deserved a penalty game for taking a round together out of turn? Well… Penalty Game."

"You'd better stop chatting and start drying your hair or I'm going to make you sleep on the sofa while I cuddle in bed with your boyfriends."

"I hate wet pillows." Ryou pulled down the knot in his hair that had grown sloppy during our game. He twisted it into a bun. It was a shame that his hair wouldn't be cascading down his body as we watched him pleasure himself next, but I couldn't blame him for being practical.

" _Our_ boyfriends," Bakura corrected what I'd said before.

"You're right." I smiled as it sunk in that he was right. "Our boyfriends."


	73. Bakura 17

I slept better than the dead, and I've been dead enough times to know. I woke up with Ryou buried against my side. Marik and Kek's voices carried in the distance. I stretched, groaning so they'd know I was awake. Ryou murmured something and grabbed me tight against his chest.

"Wake up already." I tugged at a strip of his hair. Ryou slapped at my hand, in no mood to wake up.

"Will Belgian Waffles wake you up?" Marik asked.

"Waffles?" Ryou sat up, rubbing his eyes.

There was a knock on the door and Marik answered it. He returned to the bedroom with Kek behind him carrying a huge tray with their breakfast.

"I love you," Ryou said with a yawn.

"Are you talking to me? Kek? Or the waffles?" Marik asked.

"Yes."

I noticed two plates of steak and eggs and grabbed one of them, knowing it was mine. I stabbed into the yolks, watching them burst in a spray of yellow that reminded me of Kek's hair, and dipped chunks of steak into them before cramming each bite into my mouth.

"I'm getting too used to breakfast in bed." Ryou licked syrup from his lips. "I'll have to pay you guys back one day."

"Hey Bakura." Kek tapped my knees with his toe. I looked up from my steak to see what he wanted. He grinned at me. "You should braid my hair again before we go down to the beach."

"Ugh, that takes so long." I groaned at the thought.

"Oh? Is Mr. Thief King losing his speed and dexterity?" Marik smirked down at his own waffles as he made the comment.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes. I was too content with steak to argue, and if I was Kek, I wouldn't want sand to get in that nest of hair either, so I understood why he wanted it braided. "But if you burn your scalp, don't cry to me about it."

"I packed plenty of sun block for Ryou." Kek laughed.

"Thank you. I was worried about that." Ryou pressed his arm against mine to compare them.

"Marik got us sunburned when he first left the tomb," Kek said. "That's why we started wearing the robes."

"Well, it was my second time outside. I wanted to enjoy it." Marik's smile was a mix of nostalgia and melancholy. I reached out and rubbed his knee to comfort him.

After breakfast, I went downstairs. There was a little gift shop/novelty store that had various toiletries and I was able to find little hair bands that would work for Kek's braids. The elevator ride up took forever again, but this time I leaned back against the wall and enjoyed the chance to think quietly to myself. Before we'd fallen asleep, we'd all piled into bed and talked a bit. Marik asked if we could move back into the apartment- of course that was met with eager, excited approval.

It just made me feel… like shell-shocked, only with _good_ things instead of bombs. Still felt like I owed Ma'at a prayer or something, but it'd been so long that I really wasn't sure how to do that sort of thing anymore. What was I, like 5 the last time I had to listen to a prayer? Maybe I'd just set a beer in the sand for her later and call it a day.

Back in the suite, everyone was staring at Kek's phone and laughing. They looked up and grinned at me. Kek was the first was to speak up.

"Diabound VII barfed in Atem's shoe. Thought you'd want to hear about that."

"That's my girl." I felt my face twist up in a smirk. "Remind me to give her extra treats when we get back home."

There it was again. _Home_. Holy fuck…

I plopped on the bed, ignoring the tightness in my chest. Fucking feelings. I didn't sign up for this bullshit.

"Get a comb and sit on the floor, Kek."

Once we were situated, I parted his hair and started twisting each row into a separate braid, starting near the base, and pulling in extra hair as needed.

"This is so relaxing." Kek closed his eyes and leaned his head back a touch.

Although I'd complained about doing it, I really didn't mind. The calm expression on Kek's face alone was enough reason to braid his hair. It was also fun to run my fingers through the strands to separate them, and then twist them together in row after row and tiny braids.

"When you're finished, Ryou and I want to walk around the hotel gardens before we leave for the beach," Marik said.

"You can go now if you want. We'll catch up to you." I liked the idea of them getting a head start. A garden wasn't really my thing.

"No way. I don't want to miss anything," Kek said.

"Sorry Bakura, you're stuck walking with us." Ryou laughed. He was already drenching his skin in sun tan lotion.

Sometimes I forgot that Kek was the sort of guy that picked the zoo for a date and actually liked plants and animals. You wouldn't look at him with a first glance- a mound of muscle and sex appeal- and think _I bet that guy likes holding hands and staring at koi and waterlilies_. _He's probably the type that cries when he's happy and writes hopeless romance novellas in his free time_. But here we were, and that was exactly who he was, and I sort of loved him for it. Like, who would laugh at him for getting sentimental? He could break a man like a KitKat bar. Actually, it would be hilarious to watch, but I couldn't imagine anyone ever starting trouble with Kek.

"You know, you showed me the video, but it really is amazing watching Bakura do this." Marik sat in a chair near the bed. He drew his knees into his chest and grinned as he watched us.

"Got to use my superior dexterity and speed for _something_." I snorted, mocking his earlier teasing.

"I should give you credit, you were using those dexterous hands just fine last night in the shower," Marik said in a sultry voice that made the base of my spine tingle.

"Oh-ho, was that a compliment? You're getting soft, Marik." I kissed the air, aiming it for him, as my fingers twisted through Kek's hair. "Just wait until tonight. What was that game called? Seven minutes in Heaven? Lets see how many rounds of that I can win."

"There's not really a winner in that game," Ryou said.

"What fun is that? We'll have to improve the rules a little." I pulled the braids back into a final ponytail and patted Kek's shoulders. "There. You're done."

Kek slammed me against the mattress and thanked me by slipping his tongue into my mouth. I decided to test the braids by tugging at them- they felt sturdy. Yes, they definitely passed inspection as I yanked on them while Kek kneaded our lips together.

"Hurry up and get ready. You're the one that wanted to go walking with us." Marik stood up and smacked Kek's ass.

Outside, we walked along a stone-set path through the gardens. I guess it was beautiful, if you were into that sort of thing. I'd rather stick to my personalized bouquet of beautiful men myself. Ryou and Marik looked like they were having fun however, so it was worth the time. It made sense, with Ryou's love of dioramas and Marik's love to everything outdoors, that they would be the sorts to walk through a garden right after sun up.

Kek looked amiable enough, but his face didn't truly light up until he spotted a pair of green birds hopping along a maple branch. When we reached the koi pond, Kek lay on his stomach and dipped his fingers in the water. He paddled his hand back and forth, watching the ripples break up the images of the orange, white, and black koi.

"You really love animals, don't you?" Marik asked.

"They're easier to deal with than people." Kek answered.

"He's got a point," I said. "I always preferred horses to people."

"We can go." Kek shook his hand dry and pushed himself to his feet. "I want to see what else I can find here."

He saw toads, and turtles, more birds, and even a fox scattering through the shadows. Each time he'd point the creature out, and make us all stare a moment with him. I couldn't help but grin each time I glanced at his excited expression. On our way out of the gardens I started walking ahead. I hadn't gone swimming in over 3,000 years and I was looking forward to it, so I wanted to hurry to the beach.

Lost in memories, I didn't notice how far ahead I was until I reached the exit and realized I was the only one there. Turning around to look for the others, I saw them walking together- Kek in the center and Marik and Ryou holding his hands while taking. The early day sun was that specific, crisp, bright yellow that one only ever saw on mornings that would inevitably evolve into a gorgeous day. The light made their smiling faces brilliant as they laughed and talked about I-didn't-even-know-what, but it didn't matter what they were talking about, just that they were happy talking about it. The garden framed them with trees and clusters of linaria, and maybe I did like gardens. At least, when they served as a backdrop to the people I loved.


	74. Ryou 20

*****Sorry, I've been super busy. This gets updated on time on ao3, but not so much here. Also, I lost my template for this chapter, so I had to copy/paste from ao3, which means there's a good chance stupid ffnet is going to make my italics vanish, and if it does, I'm sorry*****

* * *

I added more sunblock before we left the hotel room, and brought a bottle with me. One could never apply enough sunblock, and it only lasted for about 80 minutes before it needed to be reapplied anyway. Marik called for a cab, and ten minutes later we were standing in front of the ocean. The breeze blew the stray strands of hair already falling out of my bun, but no matter how many times I tried to brush them aside, they kept tickling my cheeks. We set out beach towels in the sand.

Bakura dashed for the waves the moment he dropped his bag into the sand. He dove into the water, disappearing below the white froth of a wave. Emerging, Bakura flung his wet hair from his face and whooped.

"Hurry up Marik!"

"Who said I was swimming? I'm here for the sun." Marik slipped on his sunglasses and stretched out his towel.

"No you don't!" Bakura ran up the beach again. He grabbed Marik by the forearm and pulled him to his feet, dragging him toward the water.

Marik managed to drop his glasses to his towel before Bakura pulled him to the waves. Marik screamed the moment he hit the green-blue water.

"Bakura! It's freezing!"

"Don't be a wuss! You'll get used to it." Bakura wrapped his arms around around Marik's waist and dragged him down below the waves.

"Better him than us, right Kek… Kek?" I turned and noticed Kek was off to the side. He dropped his hands to the sand and jumped back with his feet, doing a push up before springing forward and then doing a jumping jack. He repeated the movement. "Kek? What are you doing?"

"Burpees." Kek's breath was a huff as he dropped down again. This time he stayed in push-up position and started running with his feet. "These are mountain climbers."

"But why?" I laughed. "We're on vacation."

"Hey, I'm not going to miss the chance to train on the beach!"

Fat tear-shaped sweat drops were already rolling down his temples while smaller beads glistened on his forearms. It was very pretty to watch, but I was glad I wasn't doing jumping jacks and pushups in the hot sand. Marik and Bakura both screamed as they tackled each other into the water. Bakura stopped a moment to wave at me.

"Ryou, get your lazy ass over here!"

"I thought I was supposed to be resting." I called back to him through cupped hands.

"I'll get you in here eventually!"

I blew him a kiss and grabbed one of Marik's paperbacks to read. I'd rather have my GameBoy, but no one told me we were going to the beach and Kek "forgot" to pack it. Damn gym rat. He was running down to the edge of the water, doing squats, and then running back for more burpees. I couldn't understand how he could do that… all day long.

The sun was hot, but the breeze from the water made the air feel great. Even with the glare, my eyes started growing heavy as I re-read the same sentence three times in a row without retaining the meaning of any of the words. I finally allowed my eyes to shut and my hand to rest against the beach towel. The sound of the waves provided a calming rhythm that helped me catch up on all the rest I'd been denying myself during the overtime. Without warning, two arms wiggled below me and hoisted up into the air. I yelped, opening my eyes and staring at Kek who carried me toward the water.

"You traitor! How dare you side with Bakura." I smacked his chest, laughing as I accused him.

The spray speckled across my feet, and honestly, after laying in the sun, the chill of the water sent a refreshing tickle along my skin. He didn't drop me, but instead lowered me into the water so the cold wasn't such a shock. A wave splashed over us, and I wrinkled my face at the unexpected taste of salt water.

"About fucking time!" Bakura splashed me, but I hid against Kek's chest.

"Hey, Marik, watch this." Kek slung me over one shoulder and Bakura over the other. "Look, I have a gaggle of Bakuras- or would it be a flock of Bakuras?"

"A host of Bakuras." Marik laughed.

"Okay, that's a good one." Bakura shot Marik with his finger and winked.

"No! It's a murder! I will only accept of group of Bakuras being called a murder!" I shouted.

"Sexy, I like it." Kek purred at the suggestion.

"I don't know… the other one was kind of a pun…" Bakura grinned.

"Bakura, I will murder you and make it a pun."

"That joke would be sure to slay your audience," Marik said.

"If I wasn't slung over Kek's shoulder at the moment, I assure you, I'd be swooning." Bakura laughed.

"Yeah, about that, you guys are getting heavy." Kek heaved us both into the water.

I had enough time to yelp before crashing into the foam. Springing up, I wrapped my arms around Kek's waist. "Help me get him back, Bakura."

We both tried to drag him down, but he was too strong to tip over until Marik snuck up from behind and added a helpful shove. All three of us crashed beneath a wave together. Even with my hair up, loose strands plastered to my face. I bet Kek was glad that Bakura had braided his hair for him. The ponytail dropped a little, but otherwise, his hair stayed in place. We rough-housed for several minutes, until Bakura pointed back toward the beach.

"Ryou. Sunblock."

"Thank you!" I rushed back to our area, found the sun tan lotion, and smeared another layer on top of my skin.

Marik waded out of the water. He found his sunglasses and stretched out on top of his towel to sunbathe. "Finally, I can just lay in the sun."

"Isn't Bakura going to drag you back in?"

"He said he wanted to swim further out for a bit."

Kek jogged up us. "Bakura's swimming and Marik's sunbathing. What do you want to do, Ryou?"

I pointed to the right. "It looks like those rocks made a natural wading pool. I'd like to hunt for seashells."

"Here's an empty bag I bought for trash, but you can use it for seashells instead." Marik pulled a used store bag from out of his duffle bag.

"Thank you, Marik." I squeezed his hand for a moment as I took the bag and then raced Kek to the shallows.

Half buried shells peaked out of the white sands, and I stooped down to collect a cluster of brown-spotted ones when Kek ran up to me.

"This isn't a sea shell, but it's pretty." He held what looked like a translucent, blue stone in his palms.

I picked up the little oval stone, gliding my fingers over the smooth surface. "I think this is glass. The waves must have worn it down until it was smooth like this."

"Ugh, figures I'd find trash on the beach instead of a sea shell." Kek grabbed the glass and raised his arm back to toss it into the water.

"Wait! Don't throw it away!" I stood on my toes and grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Why? Isn't it junk?"

"No, it's beautiful!" I pried the glass pebble back from him and held it up to the sunlight. "Look."

"Well yeah… that's why I grabbed it, but it's just a chunk of glass."

"But this one's special because it's been changed. I'm keeping it, and if you find more, please bring them to me."

Kek grinned. He reached out and brushed a fallen strip of hair behind my ear. "I love how you see the world."

"You just need to trust your instincts more." I poked his chest and then took his hand. "Come on. Let's keep searching."

Our feet sank into the sand as we waded into the shallows.

"What about this?" Kek picked up a long, spiral shell.

"It's great. Here." I held up the bag so he could set it inside with the others.

"Here's another one." Kek picked up a small white shell. Legs poked out the moment he lifted it out of the water.

"I think that one already has an owner." I laughed.

Kek watched the hermit crab as it scuttled across his palm for a moment before setting it back down into the water. It was really nice watching his face as he studied the little creature. He was so careful and delicate with it despite his huge hands and rippling muscles, and it was an odd turn on- to see such a strong form using that much care and finesse.

We found a conch shell, a few more of the long spiraled ones, several brown and brown spotted shells, and a small collection of blue, green, and milky white stones that were once shattered bottles. When my bag felt heavy, I figured I'd gathered enough so bumped my shoulder into Kek and gestured back toward Marik. He smiled, nodded, and escorted me back to our area of the beach.

"Find some?" Marik asked when our shadows slipped over him.

"Yes." I smiled as I sat down and dumped our treasure onto an extra towel. Kek and I sorted them into rows so they could dry in the sun.

"Bakura will probably be hungry when he gets back," Marik said. "There's several restaurants surrounding the beach."

"Sounds good. I'm hungry too," I said.

"Where does it all go?" Kek started patting me down. It tickled so I started to giggle, which only encouraged him. "Does your stomach have a portal to the Shadow Realm in it?"

"That would explain so much." Marik sat up and joined Kek in digging fingers into my ribs.

I kicked out, tossing sand into the air as I squirmed between them. Marik's hair tickled my shoulders as he leaned in close. I didn't noticed Bakura sneak up to us until he was in front of me, getting the bottoms of my feet as the other two attacked my sides. My sides hurt from laughing so hard, and I finally screamed out to make them stop.

"I- I need more sunblock!" It was the first thought I had. Wasn't easy to think of excuses when I had six hands torturing me all at once.

"Okay, okay." Kek said, rescuing me from the other two by grabbing the sunscreen and rubbing my arms and chest down with another application.

"Marik, I'm starving." Bakura threw his arms around Marik's shoulders.

"I know." He snorted. "Let's change into some street clothes and go find a restaurant."

There was a bathroom near the parking lot which we used to slip into jeans and tank tops. Bakura dropped his favorite red hoodie over my head.

"I know it's warm, but that's light and it'll help keep the sun off your skin."

"I'd better." I slipped into the sleeves, breathing deeply into the fabric. "It smells like you. I've missed you so much."

My cheeks grew hot the moment I said it. There I went, not having a filter again, but Bakura only grinned and kissed my forehead.

A lot of tourists visited the beach, so it was easy to find a restaurant. We talked about Duel Monsters for while we waited on the food. Marik toyed with his straw in his glass, glancing up at us.

"What about a bigger apartment?"

We all stopped and looked at him.

"Sorry." He looked back down. "That was out of the blue, wasn't it? I was just thinking about how small Ryou's apartment is."

"What city?" Kek frowned.

"Domino." Marik gave him a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. I know you don't want to leave."

"We were going to anyway, for Bakura, but…" Kek trailed off.

"It's not like I don't have a plane when I need to travel."

"I don't care where I am." A goofy smile crept across Bakura's face. "I'm home right now."

"Dork." It might have been a day in the sun… or Marik could be showing the faintest hint of a blush from Bakura's statement.

"That apartment is a little small for four cats," Kek said.

"And if we have a guest bedroom, your siblings could visit," I added, knowing how close Marik was to Ishizu and Rishid.

"Oh hell no. Ugh, I mean… I guess." Kek slumped back into his chair, turning toward Marik. "That's kinda important, isn't it? But I'm getting a hotel room. I know damn well that they don't want to see me."

"Uh… better take me with you. Fortune Cookie hates me." Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Well, perhaps you could not call her by that patronizing nickname?" Marik shot him an annoyed glance.

"But it pairs so well with Baldy. I couldn't possibly break up the set."

"Don't call Rishid that either."

"What else am I supposed to call them?"

"Here's a crazy idea- their names."

"You're right. That is a crazy idea."

"Oh look, our food is here." I grinned, trying to deflate the argument. It only worked because Bakura's mouth was too full with his bacon cheeseburger for him to stick his foot in there as well. I didn't want Marik to think we'd dropped the conversation, however, so I made sure to say. "Look for something you think would work, and then let us know and we can all decide together if we want to move."

"Yeah, okay. Not that your place isn't cozy. It's just…" Marik shrugged.

"I think I understand." I nodded. Four people and four kittens would be a little cramped in my current place. Of course Marik would feel trapped living there permanently. He needed space. "Try to find an apartment with lots of windows, okay?"

"Yes." Marik sighed. "Thanks for understanding."

"And we need an office, so Ryou and I can get work done," Bakura said between bites.

"Yes, work. I'm sure it'll be an office and not a game room." Marik snorted.

"We're professional gamers now, Marik. Gaming is office work. Don't hate because we beat the system."

Well, so much for them not going back and forth all through lunch…

At the end of our meal, Marik brushed the knuckle of one finger across my cheek. I gasped, not expecting the light, affectionate touch.

"You're red."

"Well…"

"No, I meant before. I think you're going to be sunburnt after all. Maybe we should find something indoors to do for the rest of the day?"

"I don't want to ruin everyone's beach trip." I drew my finger across the table.

"Technically it's your beach trip," Bakura said.

"Besides, there's plenty of other things we can do." Kek nudged me with his elbow to try and cheer me up.

It didn't really help though. Marik and Kek liked being outside. Bakura had been enjoying the water. "I'd really rather go back to the beach. I want to finish cleaning the sand off of my shells now that they're dry. I can just keep the hoodie on."

It didn't feel bad in the restaurant with the air consider going, but it'd probably get too hot after a while under the sun. Still, maybe just an hour or two-

"I have an idea." Marik stood up. "Come on, Kek. I need some muscle."

"I can probably help with that." He flexed his bicep to show of the boulders in his arms.

"Bakura, be a dear and get the check for me. We'll meet you guys outside."

"What a sleazy date you are." Bakura pretended to gasp in outrage. "Leaving me with the bill."

"Make it up to you tonight." Marik winked as he and Kek walked away. Bakura snickered, stare fixed on their asses as they walked away.

"Bakura, don't be so obvious." I blushed again.

"Eh, no one's paying attention. What do you think he's getting?"

"Stronger sunblock? No, that's not heavy enough. I'm not sure."

"Anyway, what's up with them bumping the LP up to 8,000. Really? Like, the fucking games take forever already, now we're supposed to take longer? There's only so much evil monologuing I can do per match. I don't want to get redundant." Bakura shook his head, taking a sip from his lemonade after speaking.

"It's Kaiba's version of editing," I said.

Bakura choked, coughing as gasping for air for a moment before recovering. He used his mock, how could you voice. "Ryou. That's simply awful."

"But am I wrong?" I felt the corner of my mouth twist up.

"Well, that brings us to another topic, doesn't it. How do we make boring ass Seven Minutes in Heaven a more interesting game?"

I though for a moment. The last game was who could hold out, so I didn't want it to be too similar, but if we went the other direction we'd all finish too soon, and I wanted us to be together by the end of the game and not divided into pairs. The night before I was a little worried about Marik. Maybe I was just being overly cautious because I was afraid of him pushing away again, but I didn't want him to rush into thing and feel bad about it later. But he called us his boyfriends last night- I remember my heart racing when he said it. And he was thinking practically about apartments- not settling for my one bedroom when he knew he needed more space. So I'd already decided not to push away tonight when things inevitably grew racy. I would just trust Marik to tell us if he needed to slow down, and pay attention to him in case I needed to suggest it, but more and more, the worry from that first botched kiss was fading into the background- as dozens of new, exciting kisses took its place.

"No cocks and no mouths," I finally answered.

"That doesn't sound interesting at all."

"Oh?" I reached for Bakura's hand, ghosting my fingers across his knuckles, his wrist, his fingertips. I watched as he shuddered. "Don't you think it could be interesting?"

"Okay, maybe, but how do we figure out who wins?"

"When someone can't stand the teasing anymore and wants to move things along, they will have to dry off and go sit on the bed. Once they're all the bed, they can only watch whoever's in the shower- no touching themselves, or whoever the second person is that sits down."

"And the last person is the winner."

"Last person to dry off gets the be the first person to get off- and the losers all have to attend to them at once." I smiled.

"Hell yeah." Bakura wrinkled his nose in a delighted grin. "Now this is my sort of game. I'm going to win for sure."

"Don't be overconfident. You got lucky last night, but that doesn't mean you'll win tonight."

"Strong talk for the first person who's going to tap out."

"Don't underestimate me."

Our check finally came, and Bakura paid it. We went outside and I laughed when I saw the enormous beach umbrella in Kek's arms.

"Marik, you're a genius."

"Hey, we have to protect your pretty face." He brushed his thumb across my cheek again. If I was sunburned, I couldn't feel it because of my blush.


	75. Kek 17

"How do we decide who goes first?" I asked after Ryou and Bakura explained the modifications they had made to the classic kissing game.

"Let's roll dice." Ryou suggested. "Highest two numbers go first."

"Who brings dice to the beach?" Marik chuckled.

"I do." Bakura's nose scrunched up as he grinned and dug through one of his duffle bags. He pulled out a tin full of random dice, selecting four six-sided ones and handing them off to each of us.

"Let's do this on a table so there are no disputes." Ryou cleared away the table near the window of its collection of flower vases, and we each tossed our die.

I rolled a two, Marik a three, Bakura a four, and Ryou rolled a five. We stared at the dice for a moment.

"Did we just roll a straight?" I asked.

Bakura smacked the table. "Not good enough, team. Next time we go for the Yahtzee."

"Had we done that would we have all gotten to shower at the same time?" I grinned at the thought.

"Bingo."

"No, Bakura, that's a completely different game." Ryou laughed.

"I swear if this turns into gaming puns, I'm canceling the vacation." Marik gave Bakura's shoulder a playful shove. "Hurry up and entertain us."

"Impatient?" Bakura grabbed Marik's hand and kissed it. "It's too bad, though, because this is a slow game, so you're going to have to wait until we're ready."

"It's a slow game, but you only get seven minutes." I brought up the timer on my phone and hit start, displaying the screen so Bakura knew the clock was ticking.

The gesture didn't phase Bakura. He smiled before turning to Ryou and taking him by the hand. Bakura led Ryou into the bathroom, and Marik and I dragged a blanket to the floor in front of the glass so we could cuddle side by side as we watched. I rested my head on his shoulder, grazing my thumb across his knee.

Hey, no one said we couldn't touch as we watched the other two shower, right?

Bakura turned the shower and adjusted the temperature. Marik and I both leaned forward, waiting to see what they'd do. I licked my lips, far too eager to watch Ryou and Bakura touching each other. Marik growled in frustration. They were just washing themselves, as if it were any other everyday shower- well, not any other shower Ryou and I have ever had since shower sex was our morning favorite, but any other shower a normalperson would have taken.

"Those bastards." Marik grit his teeth. "If that's how they want to play, then that's how we can play."


	76. Marik 18

"Let me wash your back," Kek said behind me as I soaped up my chest.

"No way. They didn't touch each other the first round, so we're not going to either."

"But I want to."

I glanced over my shoulder. He stared at me, holding the body wash in his hands. I sighed. How could I say no when his gaze was that intent? Besides, letting him wash my back might turn me on- but it would also turn Ryou and Bakura on, so I wouldn't really be at a disadvantage, just allowing the game to progress. I leaned against the tiled side of the shower wall, giving Ryou and Bakura a sideways view.

"Okay, go ahead. Show those idiots out there how this game should be played."

"I'm not trying to seduce you… yet." Kek spoke against the nape of my neck as he lathered up his hands.

Hmph, he could have fooled me. He was standing rather close for someone who wasn't trying to seduce me. I shot a glance through the glass, knowing Bakura was watching, but then Kek's thumbs brushed against my scars and my eyes fluttered shut without me willing it.

The tension that always crept into my shoulders and back washed down the drain as Kek's fingers massaged circles into my muscles. His fingers probed around my scars, insuring no grains of sand from the beach lingered in the cracks of my skin.

"This is how I should have been. From the very beginning this is who I should have been- someone who took care of you and made sure you weren't hurting."

I pushed against the wall to turn and face him, but he wrapped his arms around my stomach and pressed his lips against my hair.

"Shhh, don't say anything. There's not enough time. Just let me indulge in this for a few minutes, okay?"

I nodded my head, trembling a little, but my nerves settled when his fingers massage my shoulders and then worked themselves down. I pressed my forehead against the tiles, forgetting to tease Bakura, and forgetting about the game, and enjoying the deliberate touches of Kek's fingers. I lost myself so completely to the moment, that I startled when I heard Kek's voice again.

"Oh." His touched receded, and I grunted, wanting it back.

"What's wrong?" I glanced over my shoulder.

"It's been ten minutes." Kek flashed a sheepish smile and pointed to the glass.

Ryou held the phone timer to the window with an apologetic look on his face. It said 10:43, counting up. I groaned. Why did we decide to play this stupid game? I was nowhere near even started, let alone done.

"But I didn't even get a chance to touch you."

"We'll, we're about to re-roll for another round. Maybe we'll pair up again." Kek kissed my temple.

With a defeated groan, I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around my waist. This was going to be a disaster. I was beyond aroused and if I didn't roll high, I'd have to wait seven minutes before I could so much as touch someone, and this was only the first round! Not to mention, we were already dripping water all over the bathroom floor despite keeping our hair dry and using towels. The steam escaped the moment we opened the bathroom door, sending a chill across my arms and chest.

"Sorry," Ryou apologized. "We gave you a few extra minutes, but figured we should let you know you were going over."

"No matter, let's see how we'll divide up this time." Kek grabbed all for dice. With his gaze locked on the rest of us, he lowered his head, puckered his lips, and blew against them, smirking as he distributed them to us. "For luck."

He and Bakura rolled ones, while I and Ryou rolled threes.

"You're not very good at blessing dice." Bakura shot him a look.

"I'm happy with the roll because I get to go back into the shower and it's cold out here." I rushed into the bathroom, wanting the steam, but more than that, wanting a chance to run my hands up and down Ryou's body.


	77. Ryou 21

"It's too hot." I winced the second the shower stream struck my shoulders. I stepped back to the far end of the shower cubicle and gestured for Marik to take my place.

"You're pretty red." He held my arms halfway down, where I wasn't burnt.

My cheeks, the bridge of my nose, and my shoulders were all the color of ripe strawberries, and even the slightest pressure from the water felt like a scouring pad against my skin. That was why Bakura let me wash up during our first round. I wanted to clean all the sweat and disgusting, useless suncream off of my skin before I even tried to play sexy witheveryone.

"And I don't mind hogging all the hot water. It's nice against my back."

"Well, we're a good team for this round." I laughed.

An awkward silence followed. If I was with Bakura, I could make some sort of pun, and if I was with Kek, I could just yank his hair, but I wasn't 100% sure what I should do with Marik. His thumbs ran up and down my arms, and I knew I should say or do something, but I was still a little shy.

"Sorry about last night," I blurted out without thinking. "I shouldn't have forfeited when I did."

"If you're overly cautious, it's my fault," Marik said.

"Well, just so you know, I- I won't be forfeiting any games tonight." I hesitated for a moment, but then I stepped into Marik's personal space and rested my cheek against his chest.

"You're scorching." Marik grabbed my face and stared at it.

"I'd be much worse if you hadn't bought that umbrella. Thank you, Marik."

"Do you want some ice? There's an ice maker in the fridge in our suite, so I wouldn't have to leave the room."

"Thank you, that's very sweet, but…I think if you started rubbing me down with ice cubes I wouldn't last very long in the game." My mouth dropped as soon as I said it, realizing my mistake.

"You don't say?" Marik smirked. "Well then, I'll be right back."

"Oh damn." I covered a hand over my mouth. "I should have never said that out loud."

"But you did, and I plan an using the information to my advantage." Marik sang as he turned off the water.

One day I really was going to install a filter in my mouth. But there was nothing to do about it at the moment- except shiver a little in anticipation as Marik rushed out of the bathroom for some ice. There was a stool in the corner of the shower, so I sat down and waited for the torture that I had all but asked for. Marik returned half a minute later with a cup full of ice water. He straddled my lap, and I held my breath to stifle a moan, but then Marik pressed the ice water glass to my cheek, and I gasped out loud.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Marik grinned, fishing out the first ice cube.

I whimpered when he rolled the chunk of ice down my shoulder. It did feel good. The cold soothed my burnt skin and sent shivers coursing down my body. I rested my head against the wall and cooed as Marik dragged the ice cube lower, teasing my nipple with it. He veered it back to my shoulders, making sure to cover the searing hot skin, but kept trailing down my chest and making me hitch up against him.

"I should really thank you, this was such a good idea." Marik purred as he dipped the ice below my navel.

I squirmed, wanting to grab him and- and then I realized I could grab him, so grabbed his thighs and squeezed his legs as he chuckled and grabbed a fresh ice cube. The cold against my hot shoulders made me moan.

"Marik." I curled against his chest, working my fingers up his sides, groping and grabbing everything I could get my hands on as he cupped the ice in his hands and pressed it against my skin. It melted against the burn, rolling fat drops down my body.

A heal spell couldn't feel half as good as the ice against my flaming skin, and Marik's weight against my lap sent stronger, deeper shivers coursing through my nerves. I bucked on instinct, but Marik pressed a single finger on the center of my chest to stop me.

"Remember your rules, Ryou. Not cocks and no mouths, and I can feel you pressing against me when you buck up."

"Marik," I whimpered, clutching at his hips, wordlessly begging him to forget the rules.

"You can always drop out of the game."

"It's only the second round. I can't." With another soft whimper I eased back, hissing in pleasure as Marik went back to my nipples with the ice.

"What a shame. Well, I guess I have no choice…" He slipped the ice between the gap of our crotches, freezing my inner thighs.

I cried out, hitching again, and moaning, and digging my fingers into his hips. I opened my mouth in a silent scream as he drew closer and closer to my cock. I couldn't last. I was going to have to give in-

A tap on the glass- our seven minutes were up. I'd been saved.


	78. Bakura 18

I let Marik have a few extra minutes with the back rub because- well obviously I would- but I wasn't going to let him get away with it a second time while he rubbed Ryou down with ice. I was kinda pissed off he'd come up with such a brilliant idea. I was in the shower with him first, and all I could think to do was keep the water tepid so it didn't burn his skin, and here Marik was sitting in Ryou's lap and (from the looks of it) making Ryou beg for more. Dammit.

I knocked on the glass to let them know it was time to switch. Before they were even out the door, Kek scooped me up, slung me over his shoulder, and carried me to the bathroom.

"Pretty smart trick with the ice," he said to Marik as we swapped positions.

"Well, I think it's time we start moving this game along, don't you?" Marik smirked.

"Yes. In fact-"

Kek shifted me into his arms. I glared at him, wondering what he had in mind to move the game along.

"Real quick," Kek asked before shutting the bathroom door. "We can't use our mouths to kiss or suck, but what about breath? Can I blow?"

"As long as you're not touching him with your mouth." Ryou said, who I noticed was rock hard after only a few minutes of Marik's ice cube treatment.

"This is going to be a very disappointing blow job." I snickered.

"We'll see." Kek snorted and shut us into the shower.

He didn't bother turning on the water, which was fine with me since I'd already washed. I yelped when Kek dropped me. The tiles rushed up, but he caught me around the waist, upside down, before I hit the floor.

"What the fuck?" I shouted. "This isn't sexy, put me down."

"Just getting you into position." Kek hummed as he drew his nose up the inside of my thigh.

I shivered at the light touch. Kek brushed his cheek against my skin next. I grabbed his thighs and twisted in his arms, but he held tight. When his soft breath blew against my asshole, I cried out, unable to help myself. He alternated between light blowing and soft nuzzling, and my nails sunk into his legs.

"The sooner you give up, the sooner we can all get into bed together."

"Hell no." I painted, balls aching and needing his tongue against them. "First one to give up is the last one to come."

"Then I hope you're enjoying this, because we have several minutes left."

I squeezed my thighs around his ears, panting as his breath tickled the sensitive skin around my asshole. "You can act tough, but I know you- you love to lick. You love to suck, and bite, and prod your tongue anywhere you can get it. Blowing isn't good enough for you. You want to glide that touch right between my cheeks and make me really scream."

Fuck it. If he could use his mouth to blow against me, I could use mine to dirty talk him into a frenzy.

"Maybe." Kek chuckled, nuzzling against my thighs again.

"Go ahead… lick me."

"That would disqualify me."

"But I'll scream your name if you do it."

"Before the night's over, you'll be screaming my name anyway." He nudged his nose high enough on my thigh to make me choke back a groan.

This was going to be a long couple of minutes.


	79. Kek 18

Bakura was right, I wanted to lick him so badly. His rosy little asshole was right there fucking begging for my tongue. My mouth watered at the thought, thinking how how warm and delicate his flesh would be against my lips.

But I refused to give in, and I had Bakura moaning like a bitch by the time Ryou knocked on the glass. I set Bakura down and exited the bathroom with a grin on my face. Ryou fumbled for the dice before I could even reach the table. I could tell that he was needy as well. I was crossing my fingers that we'd team up next round because I wanted to play with the ice cubes. The way he'd squirmed beneath Marik had been a sight to behold, and I wanted a closer view.

I rolled the highest number (a four), and Marik rolled the lowest number (a two), but Ryou and Bakura both rolled threes, so I wasn't sure how we'd split that.

"Re-roll?" Ryou asked.

"I have a better idea," Marik said. "Since I rolled the lowest, I lost, so I'm giving in."

"After only two rounds?" Bakura frowned. "Come on, Marik. I know you can last longer than that. I just got my ass hole blowed on for five minutes and even I have a few more rounds left in me."

"I promise to be more patient next time we play, but I'm not in a gaming mood tonight." He caught each of our gazes in turn. "I want your hands on me- all of them and all at once."

Bakura stepped forward, too used to doing whatever Marik told him to do. I grabbed him by the hair and jerked him back a step. "Even if you opt out, that doesn't help decide who faces me in the next round, so Bakura and Ryou still need to re-roll."

"Or we can do a sudden elimination round. All three of us at once to see if we can make someone drop out by the end of the seven minutes," Ryou suggested.

It sounded like a plan. I think at this point all of us were in a rush to get things going. There was an excited tension in the air, like a bow string on the verge of snapping. And I knew exactly how to get Ryou to drop out of the game.

"Bakura, get another cup of ice and meet me in the shower." I held Ryou's hand and led him into the shower.

"Ready to be tortured?" I asked, chuckling against his next and teasing him with the tip of my nose since I wasn't allowed to kiss him.

"Yes," he said without hesitation, arching against my chest.

I moved the stool closer to the window so Marik would have a good view and knelt in front of it. Ryou sat down and I took the first glass that Marik had used and dipped my fingers into the chilly water. Pulling them out, I allowed a few drops to fall on Ryou's shoulders and roll down his skin.

"That's nice." Ryou sighed, his eyes fluttered shut.

Next I brushed my cold fingers over his shoulders and collarbone. Ryou leaned into my touch, his face wrinkled in concentration. I didn't hear Bakura enter the bathroom, but a moment later, he was kneeling beside me and tracing Ryou's lips with an ice cube. I pressed my fingers against Ryou's cheeks, and the tip of his nose, before grabbing a sliver of near-melted ice and laying it on top of his shoulder to melt.

"Don't stop," Ryou begged.

Gooseflesh broke out over his arms, but we didn't stop. Bakura and I rubbed a larger chunk of ice against each one of Ryou's nipples. After they turned red from cold, I smoothed the chilled glass over his cheeks and then dribbled more water down his neck and shoulders. Ryou whimpered, soft, pleading sounds. I forgot we were playing a game, and there were rules to it. In that moment I only wanted one thing- to make Ryou writhe in pleasure beneath my ice-chilled fingers.

And he did. He squirmed beneath out fingers. I reached up and pulled his hair free. White cascaded down his shoulders. I brushed it to the side. Ryou's eyes were so dark… so dark… they reminded me of everything I ever loved about the darkness. I leaned forward, about to kiss him before remembering I couldn't. Instead I dragged my fingers through his hair and sighed near his ear.

The door opened and I saw Marik walking in from the corner of my eye.

"Is our time up?" Bakura asked.

"I'm afraid so."

"Please… don't…stop." Ryou breathed out the words, sinking his nails into the wrist of my left hand to keep me in place. My ice was all melted, so I stole a cube from Bakura's cup to dance across his rosy skin.

"Sorry, Ryou. Maybe you'll get another turn next round." Marik purred from right above me.

"Don't stop," Ryou begged again. "I'll capitulate, but I want five more minutes. My skin finally stopped burning."

"Well…" Malik settled in between Bakura and myself, stealing a cube from Bakura's cup and licking it before running it down the front of Ryou's neck.


	80. Marik 19

Watching them torment Ryou through the glass was driving me crazy. I gave them five minutes- not seven- before sneaking into the bathroom. None of them noticed that I'd shortened their time. They were too busy soothing ice over Ryou's skin. Ryou even agreed to speed things along in exchange for a few bonus minutes, so I worked a bit of ice against his pale skin. Kek and Bakura were hogging his shoulders, so I dragged my ice cube down the center of his body and curved it over to his thighs.

"M-Marik!" Ryou bucked, almost spilling out of the shower stool.

I glided the ice to where his legs and body met, and teased oh-so-close to his cock. Ryou's toes curled against the tiled floor and he squealed as we tortured him. With Ryou good and worked up, I decided to target Bakura, dragging the remaining ice down his spine. He grunted, eyes lidding as he pressed his own ice against Ryou's stiffened right nipple. I slid my ice even lower, down to his crack, and then stuffed it up his asshole.

"What the fuck!" Bakura screamed in a mix of surprise, cold, and arousal. "Marik, you bastard!"

I ignored the insult, grazing my nails up his thighs and caressing his stomach and pelvis. He squirmed, the ice melting inside of him, and I grabbed his hips and yanked him against my chest. Ryou leaned over, curving his hand behind Bakura's head and drawing their mouths just out of reach of each other.

"Bakura- kiss me."

"That would disqualify me." Bakura huffed.

Kek still dabbed Ryou's hot skin with ice-cold fingers, but Ryou and I blew against Bakura's neck, and brushed our noses along his skin.

"I know," Ryou whispered in his ear and tugged his hair. "Which means Kek wins."

"Which means we can get started." I nipped his neck. It was cheating since I'd used my mouth, but I was already out of the game, so I didn't see why I should play by the rules. I also squeezed his ass.

"And you still get to go second since Marik and I already dropped out," Ryou added, hoving his lips over Bakura's. "Kiss me."

"Fuck." Bakura held Ryou's jaw and slipped his tongue into Ryou's mouth.

With my left have kneading against Bakura's ass, I reached out with my right hand and brushed my fingers up Ryou's shaft. He squeaked, breaking the kiss. With a dark, gleaming look in his brown eyes, Ryou lunged for me. He wrapped both arms around my neck and brought our lips a few millimeters apart from each other.

"Marik, can I kiss you?"

Something about the intentional way he sent a jolt through my belly. I couldn't even answer, nodding like a fool and half closing my eyes as Ryou plucked a deliberate kiss from my bottom lip. Hands roamed over my thighs and the small of my back. I couldn't even tell who was touching wear anymore, it swirled together into one big, beautiful mess. I broke my kiss with Ryou, panting as I slide my hands up and down his ribs.

"Let's get the fuck out of the bathroom."

"Yeah, this shower stall is a little cramped." Bakura laughed. It was a big shower, but four people were still a snug fit.

Kek swung Ryou up into his arms, and Bakura held my hand as we walked to the bed.

"You won," Ryou muttered against Kek's shoulder as he kissed him.

"Don't know how. I almost lost my mind in the shower with Bakura."

"Don't worry, I'll let you lick where ever you want to when it's my turn." Bakura winked. "But first- it's your turn."

"And I know exactly how we should celebrate Kek's victory."

I slammed him face first into the mattress. His braids bounced as he slammed against the blankets and pillows. Crawling on top of his ass, I straddled myself over him and glanced at Bakura.

"Would you bring me my oils, Bakura? I owe Kek a back rub."


	81. Kek 19

Everyone on tumblr voted for daily updates, so we'll do Kek's section today, Bakura's tomorrow, et cetra...

malaaki = angel (you probably could have inferred that with context clues, but here's a little note anyway)

Note: still no italics b/c ff net is a pain in my ass. My best rec is to just find this on ao3 where it's properly formatted.

* * *

I crashed face first against the bed, but the mattress was so soft that- for all Marik's rough play- I couldn't help but sigh and relax the moment my chest hit the sheets. Marik crawled on top of me, fisting my hair to keep me in place- not that I had any desire to move. Their hands grabbed and kneaded my muscles, sore from working out in the sand. I hissed as Bakura drizzled cold oil over my back, arms, and legs, but it was a nice shock to my warm skin.

The scent of lavender drifted to my nose, and I held it deep inside my lungs as I breathed. Marik worked my middle back while Bakura knelt in front of me and massaged my shoulders. Because I couldn't see Ryou, I knew it was his slender hands pushing oh so delicately into my calves. God yes the calves. The sand had never stopped shifting under my weight, great for resistance but hell on my calf muscles.

With so many hands circling over my body, it was hard to focus on any one pleasure. Instead, I allowed myself to be swept away in the tide of their caresses. A whimper escaped me. The sort of noise that would have- once upon a time- made me self-conscious, but not anymore, there was no shame in cooing like a dove as their fingers glided along my oil-slick skin.

Oh fuck yes, Ryou had reached my feet. He pushed hard into the pads and my heals. It was fucking bliss. Because Marik and my scars were the same, he knew exactly where they pinched, where he should secretly scratch, even where he needed to push harder because the nerve damage made it difficult to feel in a few areas. Every glide of his palms and fingers was pure fucking magic. Then there was Bakura. That dirty fucking whore, I loved him so much. He wasn't even massaging anymore, he was yanking and tugging at my hair while growling compliments into my ear. My fingers curled into the sheets. I knew I was supposed to lay back and let them spoil me, but if Bakura didn't stop tugging my hair soon, I was going to shove him against the headboard and finish that rim job I wasn't able to actually do in the shower.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Ryou's fingers slid up my inner thighs and massaged my balls. They were joking with each other: should we tease him some more? Maybe we could get more ice? Too bad he's on his stomach- we can't reach his cock. Like I cared that they were teasing me. I've never been one to turn down a little torture, and this was some heavenly, erotic fucking torture. Let them do their wors-

"Bakura!" I growled as he gave a hearty yank to my braids.

"Yes, Kek?" He hummed, voice smooth and sweet like honey dripping from the cone. I wanted to fucking wrap my lips around him and suck the sweetness right out of him.

"Soon as I'm up, I'm going to- holy gods!"

Ryou's tongue darted up my crack. Like lashes, he flicked his tongue over and over. I frotted against the bedsheets, moaning openly as he licked deeper. Every hitch against the over-priced sheets sent jolts up my cock and into my stomach. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Marik tried to press me down and keep me in place, but I was too strong, too wild for him, and they finally helped me roll onto my back.

"Doesn't hurt?" Marik asked, more concerned about my back that I had ever been.

"Shut up and kiss me." I pulled him down and sucked on his lips.

My legs spread wide, Ryou rolled his tongue around my balls and Marik took my breath away. I felt rather than saw Bakura moving to my side. Ryou bit my thigh and I broke mine and Marik's kiss as I released an aroused wail. I didn't think it could get any better, but that's when Bakura grabbed my shaft and French kissed the tip.

Marik smashed his lips against mine in time to muffle the shout escaping me. Mariks fingers tangled in my hair and he reined me closer.

"So… this is what you like?" Marik purred in my ear while I squirmed beneath him.

"Yes, malaaki."

"I'm no angel." Marik snorted, tugging harder.

If he wasn't an angel, why was he answering my prayers with each pull? My eyes rolled back as Ryou slipped two lube soaked fingers into my ass. He went straight for my prostate, over and over with his fingertips. The sparks in my groin set my entire body ablaze. Bakura swallowed my cock, and I arched off of the mattress. As he bobbed his head, I popped up my hips. Gods… his mouth… gods... the way he suckled against my cock…

Marik licked the corners of my mouth and pressed kisses up my jaw. His mouth glided over my skin, delicate and smooth, but it was too tender for my mood. I wanted to feel him. I wanted his presence imprinted on my overwhelmed senses.

"Bite, Marik, bite." I was giving orders, but there was no command in my voice, I was begging.

Marik nipped at my throat. I groaned in aroused frustration. "Harder."

With a savage growl, Marik sank his teeth into my neck and oh blessed gods yes. It was exactly what I wanted. Bakura's mouth was warm and wet around my cock. Ryou's fingers were lightning bolts striking my prostate. Marik continued to bite and suck and yank at my hair at the same moment Bakura took me in deeper to his mouth.

Gods… so deep. Gods, I missed Bakura, and now his lips were back on me again and it was too good to endure. My first physical love, my idiot that had helped me stumble into humanity. And Ryou, Ryou, Ryou. My first romantic love. The one I needed most in the world. Then Marik. Marik was a surprise. The love I didn't realize I needed until it was just out of reach of my fingertips, but now he was all teeth and ferocity at my throat, and sweet, sweet gods.

I screamed. I screamed. I- fuckings gods! I couldn't think, only feel their mouths and fingers working, fire and lightning and sharp desert wind. Fucking gods. Fucking gods. I was screaming. I was coming.


	82. Bakura 19

Damn he was hot as he shot come down my throat. I drank it up like cream, licking my lips and purring like a kitty when I was finished, too. We took a second to rest so Kek could recover. Crowding around him with the others, I held his hand and kissed it.

"Soon as I can move," he whispered, smiling at me.

"Yeah? Sounds like a threat."

"No threat." Kek pushed himself into a plank position, hovering above me. He grinned, eyes glittering as he stared. "I'm going to finish what I started."

Oh fuck yes. It was my turn. About gods-damn time, too! Fuck that shower tease- fuck it! My asshole was still tingling from that seven minute torture session, and my balls fucking ached from want of a mouth licking them. And I deserved it too. I deserved rim jobs, and blow jobs, and orgasms. I deserved this moment. All your boyfriends are belong to me. I can haz. Mine.

Look, I'm not entitled, I just know what I want out of life- and I wanted _them_.

I spread out my legs and raised my feet into the air on either side of Kek, tempting him as I licked the shape of my lips. My eyes lidded and closed. I didn't need to see. They surrounded me on every side, and that's all I wanted- _them_.

Kek darted between my legs, shoving me higher and my thighs wider apart as his tongue cycloned around my asshole.

"Fuck yes! Fuck yes! Fuck yes! Fuck yes! Fuck yes!"

Ryou's lips sealed around a nipple, sucking and biting until I groaned between the string of _fuck yeses_ I chanted. Marik, that gorgeous yet aggravating fucking tease, rubbed his thumb up and down the slit of my head, barely touching me. I opened my mouth to yell at him to suck me off, but another spew of _fuck yeses_ rang out instead. Couldn't… really… concentrate. Not with that tongue, that wonderful, wicked, agile, wet fucking tongue going at my asshole the way Ryou went at a cream puff or the way I went at steak.

"Fuck yes! Fuck yes! Fuck yes!"

"I swear, if we get a noise complaint-" Marik laughed. I didn't hear everything he said over my cursing.

"Oh… oh, you don't know, do you?" That was Ryou's voice. He'd stopped kissing my chest to look up at Marik. I growled, but they ignored me. "There's a reason he's screaming. Bakura, have you told Marik about the miracle which is Kek's mouth?"

"Ryou- not now- I- need- _oh fuck yes, Kek! Fuck yes! Ryou!_ Quit fucking around and start fucking around!"

"You don't want to wait the full seven minutes?"

"Marik!"

They laughed above me and then swapped places. Marik bent low, lapping at my nipples. Ryou grabbed my shaft and rolled his tongue around the tip. My eyes slammed shut. Tears welled in the corners as I grit my teeth. The stabs of pleasure shooting down my cock were too intense for words.

"Bakura," Marik whispered, kissing up my neck.

I moaned. HIs voice was so godsdamned hot, and the way Ryou teased his lips around my tip was so godsdamned hot, and Kek's tongue wiggling inside me was _so godsdamned fucking hot_.

"I can't, oh gods, I can't- Ryou, Kek, Marik, someone, _please_. Don't make me wait." I tossed my head back, moaning and moaning and moaning.

"I love hearing a man beg." Marik's breath tickled my ear before his teeth nibbled my lobe, tugging just enough to make me purr.

Kek licked up to my balls, sucking one and then the other. My hips arched, and Ryou shoved a pillow below my ass to give him and Kek more room.

"Kek," Ryou said in his soft, polite voice.

Kek laughed, wiping his mouth before licking up my shaft. My nails scratched against the sheets and my toes curled. They raced their tongues up my shaft, and fluttered them at the head. Marik was trying to pinch my nipples, but he kept staring at the other two, watching how their mouths worked me over- his eyes glazed as his teeth scraped his bottom lip. If it wasn't _so damn good_ I'd be laughing my ass off, but honestly? Watching Marik zone out as he watched them lick my cock was such a turn-on I thought I might come before either of them took me into their mouths.

Always the kind one, Ryou finally sealed his lips around my prick and slid down to my base, and- _fuck yes fuck yes fuck yes fuck yes fuck yes_!

His sunburned cheeks puffed out from the blowjob. White strands shook free of the bun as he bobbed his head up and down. I forget how beautiful he is sometimes, and then I look at him and can't breathe. Marik was having the same problem as his fingers danced around my chest, but his gaze stayed locked between my legs (a nice place for Marik's gaze, if I do say so).

Kek ran to the fridge, grabbing two more ice cubes. One he lovingly glided along Ryou's shoulders, cooling him off as he sucked.

"Holy shit!" I squealed as he pressed the other ice cube against my asshole.

My nipples perked as a chill shot through me. Marik took advantage, pinched them extra hard. I squirmed, instinctively trying to escape the cold, but at the same time, the mix of chills and heat, Marik's fingers and Ryou's mouth…

" _Fu-ffff-fu-uhhh-ahhhhh_!"

I wanted- no- _needed-_ to com- shit! Kek's fingers stuffed inside me. Oh. My. Gods.

He fucked with his fingers with all the same enthusiasm as he gave to his rimjobs.

"That's right," Marik purred as his fingers spread down my chest in a teasing gesture. "Fuck him."

Kek glanced up at Marik, winking. Shit it was hot. And Ryou's mouth. Oh Ryou's mouth. That sweet, sweet mouth. Right on my cock. Right where I needed it. Tongue rubbed just where I wanted it. Oh my fucking gods!

"Keep sucking Ryou. He's about to come." Marik licked his lips. "Kek, go a little deeper. Tease his prostate."

Kek obeyed and I squealed like a bitch- enjoying every fucking second of it, too. Marik thumbed both my nipples, looking down at me.

"Well? Haven't you waited long enough? Come for us, Bakura."

The worst part? The best part?

 _The best part._

My body reacted to his words, like my spine was a lightning rod and his breath was the lightning Ra used to strike down blasphemers. I twisted, back arching, muscles clenching, mouth screaming, cock emptying itself into Ryou's lovely, lovely, lovely mouth. He cooed before swallowing, such an angel. Kek gave my prostate a final drag of his finger tips, pulling at the end to make my orgasm last just a second longer. Marik stared at me, and I felt his gaze penetrating inside me. I had no idea how my face looked, but I imagined it was pretty wrecked. I felt wrecked in the most blissful, serene way as my hips sank back into the mattress.

Gods, gods, gods, fucking gods. How does he _do_ that to me with his smug fucking little speeches? How can a few words reach inside me like that? They were talking and laughing, but the blood roared in my ears as post-orgasmic euphoria washed over me. I couldn't say anything, I had screamed it all out already. All I could do was smile, my eyes fluttering shut.


	83. Ryou 22

"We killed him." I laughed as I saw his eyes close.

"Eh, it's Bakura. He'll come back from the dead in no time. " Kek brushed his lips gently across my shoulders. "How's your sunburn?"

"I'm too turned on to really notice it." I grabbed Kek's hand and wrapped his fingers around my cock. My eyelashes fluttered as he squeezed.

"Wake up, stupid." Marik kisses Bakura's lips. "You're missing out on the fun."

"Not… not sleeping. Resting a second."

"Bakura, please don't make me wait." I cried out as Kek stroked me. I didn't want to come right away, but all that teasing… I was afraid I wouldn't last long.

"I'm up." Bakura muttered, half asleep and he dragged himself to sitting and opened his arms. "Come here."

Kek passed me off. I whimpered at the loss of his hand around me, but didn't mind as much when I found myself in Bakura's lap. He traced his fingers across my lips. They burned with friction from the blow job, but that didn't stop me from dragging them up the pads of Bakura's fingers.

"You're so beautiful, you know that?" Bakura held my chin with his thumb and finger, tilted my head to the side so I could see Marik sitting next to us and staring. "Marik notices. Do you see the way he's looking at you?"

I wanted to flush and turn away, but I promised I wouldn't forfeit tonight. I forced myself to return Marik's gaze, and Bakura was right. His eyes were glazed with lust. His lips parted as if he couldn't wait to taste me. Yes, I knew I was gorgeous, we all were. Marik was certainly no exception to that. But still… watching him look at me, like that. Knowing he found me as attractive as I found him… my heart fluttered.

"Marik, may I kiss you?" I whispered a breath away from his lips.

"You don't have to ask anymore."

In the end, it was Marik who flushed and turned away.

Something about Marik acting bashful excited me, stirred a latent mischief that I rarely indulged in. Bakura's a bad influence, I swear. I would _never_ think _anything_ other than the purest thoughts if it hadn't been for wearing the Ring for so long.

"Sorry, Marik." I brushed my fingers through his hair before cupping his cheek and guiding his face back to mine. With my left hand I roamed up his chest and down his stomach, across his thighs, and around his hips to the edges of his scars. "I couldn't possible kiss you without specific… orders… to do so…"

With each pause I ghosted my mouth against his lips, almost, but not quite giving into the kisses even as Marik tilted his face to receive them. I continued to hold his cheeks so he couldn't dip closer and steal what he wanted. I've loved the King of Thieves for too long to fall for such easy tricks. Brushing my lips along his temple, I flashed a quick smile to Kek as he watched me tease Marik, his jaw slack and eyes wide. Moving over to the other temple, Bakura and I exchanged grins. I swerved, the faintest warmth of Marik's lips touched my own because of how close our mouths lingered, but I still didn't give in.

"Ryou… are you getting me back for the ice cubes?" Marik laughed, almost bumping my lips with his own as he chuckled.

"Maybe." I grinned.

"I'm… a little impressed by that. I didn't realize you could hold a grudge."

"Dammit, Marik, just tell him to kiss you already." Bakura growled, his nails dug into my hips as he held onto me.

"Aren't you enjoying the suspense?" Marik smirked.

"I enjoy instant gratification." He tugged at my hair. "Hey Ryou, will you kiss me if I ask?"

"If you ask nicely."

He smirked. A specific smirk that told me he was about to do something out of character if only to rile up Marik. With his best impression of demure, Bakura batted his eyelashes.

"Ryou… please kiss me."

An enormous smile stretched my sunburnt cheeks as Bakura both used my name _and_ said please. I knew he was only doing it to tease Marik, but I couldn't resist melting against his lips and drawing a long, sultry moan from his throat as I kissed him.

"Hey Ryou," Kek's lips brushed against my shoulders. "May I also be kissed, please?"

I giggled at his formality. Bakura held the back of my head to keep me all to himself, but I unwound his fingers from my hair and darted over to Kek's mouth, slipping my tongue between his lips and tensing up when he teased the tip of his finger around the head of my cock.

Malik stole me from Kek's arms. He dipped me, brushing our noses together. He was so stubborn. Watching the other two ask to be kissed probably convinced Marik _not_ to ask, and I was too turned on to wait it out.

"Marik? Will you kiss me?" I asked _him_.

His eyes dilated as he guided me the rest of the way down onto the mattress. Our cocks rubbed together as our lips met. My nails curled into his back before I remembered that he was more gentle with his scars than Kek. I slid my palms down and held his hips, encouraging him to frot against me. Our kisses became sloppy as we bucked into each other's groins.

"Ryou… Ryou," Marik moaned as he broke out kiss.

His weight against my cock sent jolts through my spine. The friction had me wailing in ecstasy. Bakura and Kek were silent as they watched- perhaps they were afraid to jinx the moment, or that I'd stop like I did the night before. But I couldn't. _I couldn't_ stop. Not this time. Marik rubbing against me consumed me, and I allowed myself to lay against the mattress and _enjoy_ every second of it. No longer afraid that I'd do something wrong, or offend Marik. He was sucking above my collarbone, marking me just out of reach of my sunburn as to not hurt my tender shoulders.

"Kek, grab his ankles," Marik ordered, and Kek bent low to pin my feet against the sheets. "Bakura, take his wrists."

Bakura wrenched my hands away from Marik and held them up over my head. I panted, mouth opened wide. I was trapped, their bodies a living bondage set keeping me locked in place. The thrill of it made my heart beat faster. Marik shimmied lower, pressing against Kek as he nestled between my spread legs.

"You asked to be kissed?" Marik smirked.

Realizing what he was about to do, I braced myself for the shock of his tongue against my cock, but that only heightened the sensation of it when it came.

"Oh fuck! Yes, please!"

Marik kissed my tip. First, he only used his lips, and I cried out, but then he added his tongue and I screamed. I struggled against Kek and Bakura, fighting to free my limbs. I wanted to wrap my thighs around Marik's head. I wanted to yank at his hair until Kek was jealous, but the fact that I couldn't because _Kek and Bakura were holding me in place_ was so erotic, that it intensified the pleasure of Marik's every lick and drag of his lips.

"Ryou, I think he needs more instruction." Bakura chuckled, his voice husky.

"Maybe you should ask him to do more than kiss." Kek winked at me.

My cheeks would have set on fire, if they weren't already (literally and figuratively).

"Take me deep-p-per, ple-please." I panted, struggling with each word.

Marik glided his mouth to my base, but froze like a statue, awaiting further instruction. My groin swelled with beautiful, yearning pressure. I just wanted… wanted… right where it was… but more of it. Why was Marik still teasing me? Gods, fine! If He wanted words I'd spew them at him until there were none left!

"Marik! Move, dammit! Move! Marik, please! Please! Suck! _Ahhhh_! Faster! Deeper! You wretched bastard if you don't make me come right, right now, I'll- ahhh! Kill your character in Monster World! Oh! Oh, Marik! Please! Please! All the way down! Please! Don't… stop. I'll do anything you want during your turn! JUST PLEASE DON'T STOP!"

Bakura brayed with laughter above me. I don't know why. He's a bit of an idiot. I grit my teeth because I was sooo close that it felt like I was being tortured. As I climbed higher, I kept thinking _this is it_. _It can't get better than this. This is it_ , but then I'd stall out and found my muscles could squeeze a little more, that my heart could stampede a little faster, that the utter bliss could expand a little further.

When it all snapped- it snapped hard. I held my breath. No more words. No more screams. My eyes closed and I couldn't see anything but lovely, lovely darkness as I came with Marik's lips sealed around me. Aftershocks wracked through my body as Marik swallowed. I groaned.

"Thank you, Marik." I sank my head back down against the pillow.


	84. Marik 20

Ryou's threats and curses were the cutest things I'd ever heard, and the sleepy way he said thank you after I'd swallowed was too much. Bakura was rolling on the bed laughing, only Kek was paying any attention to me- kissing the wingtips on my back. I twisted around and grabbed Kek, pawing at him, grunting in frustration. Kek held my shoulders, gracing his lips up my neck. All the tenderness and care he never wanted for himself he poured into me until I gasped, hardly able to breathe.

Bakura and Ryou whispered beside us. Laughing, they scrambled to their feet and to the other side of the room.

"What the fuck," I muttered, wanting their attention, their touch.

I was the only one that hadn't came yet and my cock was so tight in its own skin I was going to chuck the vases at them if they didn't get back to bed.

"Don't let him come yet, Kek. We want to set up first." Ryou helped Bakura drag a chair to the foot of the bed.

"Over here. Now," I hissed.

"Marik, you're a king." Bakura shot a finger at me as he and Ryou piled pillows and extra sheets over the chair. "And a king deserves to get his cock sucked while sitting in his throne."

Before I could call Bakura an idiot, Kek was already carrying me and setting me down in place.

"Comfortable?" Bakura asked.

I didn't care about comfort at that moment, and couldn't bother even thinking about my back. The need for their mouths to be on me was savage. It consumed every corner of my brain.

"If I'm a king, then you're my servant and have to do what I say." I glared at him, expecting a sarcastic reply and prepared to lunge at him when he gave it.

To my complete fucking shock, Bakura dropped to his knees, snatched my hands in his, and kissed my knuckles.

"Command me, my liege."

Oh my gods, Bakura saying that went straight to my cock. I blinked, staring at him grinning up at me from his knees. Leaning forward, I smirked. "Then start at my feet and kiss your way up."

Bakura held my left foot in his hand and kissed the top of it, trailing to my ankle and then up my shin. Meanwhile, Ryou sat on the chair arm beside me. He pushed his hand against my chest and brushed our noses together.

"I'm going to kiss you, Marik," he said. His voice was soft and gentle as ever, but there was a confidence in his voice that implied that he wasn't going to wait for me to ask him this time, and it made me short of breath.

HIs lips reached mine at the same moment Bakura's tongue rolled up my thigh. I gripped the arms of the chair. Ryou's legs were in the way on my right side, so I dug my fingers into his leg instead. I writhed before them. Ryou kept me pinned against the soft cushions of the chair, and Bakura snaked his way up to my chest, kissing around Ryou's fingers.

"Don't forget about me." Kek chuckled. He shoved my knees apart, as wide as they could stretch in the seat. I caught half a glance at him between Ryou's and Bakura's bodies. He licked his lips. "I need to pay homage to the king as well."

His tongue swirled around my balls like a storm. I tossed my head back and gasped. Ryou pressed a finger to my lips, whispered _shhhhh_.

"Let's see how long you can last before calling out."

Kek was sucking my balls, and I was panting, chest heaving, breath loud. Bakura took my hand and nuzzled his cheek against my palm. I groaned. Both Bakura and Ryou were staring at me, and Kek choose that moment to flutter his tongue against the tip of my swollen head.

" _Hahhh!"_

" _Shhhh,_ not yet. Wait until you truly can't stand it anymore." Ryou dabbed his tongue along my bottom lip.

I opened my mouth and tilted my head, deepening our kiss and twining our tongues together. Out of the corner of my sight, I saw Bakura's mouth as he sucked my pointer finger. He switched to my middle finger and at the same time Kek engulfed my length.

I broke Ryou's kiss, mouth stretched wide in a silent scream. Oh Kek's tongue! That wicked, wicked tongue writhing against my shaft as his mouth sucked. If I was an angel to him, he'd be a devil tempting me- and I was going to fall from grace, trading in my soul for a moment that surpassed the divine, and never regretting my decision afterward.

"Now you know," Ryou whispered why Bakura sucked my pinky finger. "Why Bakura was screaming. Isn't it ungodly? How _good_ he is with his mouth?"

"Yes!" I shrieked.

I didn't realize that _I_ was screaming, but I was, and I couldn't stop. Bakura kissed down my palm and to my wrist, massaging my pulse point with his lips. Ryou worked his lips against my chest. Kek had my cockhead rubbing against the back of his throat. Waves of pure bliss crashed against every nerve in my body. My toes curled as I planted my feet on the edge of my seat, spreading my legs wider and hitching up to Kek's lips.

"Any other orders, my liege?" Bakura whispered and traced his tongue around my ear.

"Don't stop!" I cried out, unable to think of anything for him to do just then.

Bakura reached over to the side table and plucked a rose from the vase. He ghosted the velvety petals across my sweating skin, teasing my lips, teasing my throat, teasing my nipples. I shuddered at the phantom touches of the petals against my body. I was swept up in a tide of pleasure, drunk off of all their touches and kisses spoiling my body all at once.

I clutched Bakura and Ryou, and arched, and flung my left leg over Kek's shoulder so I could nudge deeper into his mouth, but I couldn't. He was already sucking so deeply that it was useless, but I couldn't stop myself from shifting anyway. It was too intense not to squirm.

I grabbed at both of them.

And screamed.

I shoved my cock to the back of Kek's throat,

And screamed.

I damn near lifted my body up off the chair as the shaking in my thighs spread to my groin and I felt myself come,

And I screamed, and I screamed, and I screamed.

The lights grew bright. At least, they seemed to, and my eyes watered. I couldn't hear anything. The pressure built in my ears and I struggled to breathe. I rode out my orgasm. At some point I let go of Bakura and Ryou to tug at Kek's hair, but I don't remember doing it, only screaming and then looking down at my hands tangled in his braids. I dropped my hands and unhooked my leg from his shoulder, still gazing down at him. Kek looked at me in return, his eyes amazingly bright. I touched his cheek, and his eyes shut as he sighed against my palm. I glanced at Ryou next, his hair scattered every which way, and face rosy from the sun. We exchanged sleepy smiles at each other. I saved Bakura for last. My heart leapt into my throat when I saw the scrunchy-nosed grin on his face.

"I love you," I whispered. Pushing myself higher so that I wasn't slumping, I turned to Ryou and Kek. I felt my cheeks flush. "And I'm… starting to love both of you. Every day a little more. Is that enough? I don't want to flatter, so I can't say it better than that until-"

Ryou pressed a quick kiss against my lips. "It's enough, and I feel the same way. I've loved Bakura and Kek for some time now. I'm only now starting to understand the depth of my feelings for you." Ryou laced our fingers. "But I'm looking forward to exploring them together."

I nodded, squeezing his hand.

"I love all of you. Each in a special way. I know it's still too soon with Marik, but I can't help it." Kek leaned against Ryou's side. He looked a little helpless, but at the same time, content. "Emotions have always been like a fire inside me. It used to be anger, but now, it's love, and it's devouring me, and I wouldn't exchange this feeling for anything."

Bakura collapsed against my left thigh, hiding his face and hooking and arm around my leg as the other one reached out for Kek's shoulder.

"I love you all so damn much." Bakura confessed with his face buried against me.

Kek grabbed him and pulled him into his chest. They knelt on the ground and held each other. Ryou slid down to his knees and joined them. I hesitated for a moment, watching, wondering if I should, but in the end, I remembered that we were a bouquet, that my addition was wanted. My knees dropped to the carpet and I flung my arms around them. Their hands reached for me in return, knotting me into the net of their bodies until I was a part of it.

Kek broke the embrace, but only to lift Ryou up in his arms and carry him to bed. With a smirk, I did the same for Bakura, enjoying the way he giggled as I carried him.

"Probably need to get some of that oil on your back as well." Bakura grabbed my lavender oil and smeared it on my scars.

"Kek, put some on Ryou's sunburn. It should help it heal faster," I said as Bakura worked on my back.

Kek snatched the bottle from Bakura's hand and applied it to Ryou's shoulder.

"It smells lovely," Ryou said.

I nodded, sighing and relaxing beneath Bakura's touch. After he was done we all nestled down. Ryou stayed on the edge of the bed, too tender to pile with the rest of us, but he held Kek's hand to stay connected in some small way. I stared up at the ceiling, buzzing from orgasm and the thrill of laying beside everyone.

"I think when we go apartment hunting I'm going to pretend we're a rock band and say we need thick walls for practice."

"Good idea. Then I can really make you scream." Kek chuckled.

"That is the plan." I smiled back at him.

"For the first time in years, I'm actually excited about the thought of going back to work now that work is designing an RPG." Ryou turned so he could stare at each of us. "Thank you all so much for this trip. I've had so much fun."

"If you call getting your asshole blown against for seven minutes while upside down fun." Bakura snorted.

"Well?" I asked. "Wasn't it?"

"Maybe a little," he admitted. "But only because we all got to pile in bed together afterward."

"That was nice." I moaned, the memories still fresh and my body still humming with the after effects.

"I'm a little shocked though," Kek said.

"Why?" Ryou asked.

"All those gorgeous memories and you didn't grab your phone for a single picture or video."

"He's right. I was sure you'd at least want to catch Marik on video." Bakura nodded.

"Oh my goodness. I didn't even think about my phone!" Ryou sat up, glancing at the end table where his cellphone sat. "I was so absorbed in the moment that- I don't believe I missed a chance to catch Marik's first blowjob from Kek!"

We all laughed as Ryou grabbed his phone and brought up the camera app.

"Don't worry, Ryou. We'll just have to re-enact it so you can record it." I grinned, already looking forward to it.

"But next time let's actually give Marik a king's outfit. I want to ham up the roleplay a little bit," Bakura said.

"And you should dress up like the Thief King." I winked at him.

"I have my original robes. The gods brought me back in them."

There it was, that precious grin again where his entire face went into the expression. I loved it so much.

"Here. I need one snapshot of all us together." Ryou scooted closer to Kek.

We crowded together, making sure we were in frame as Ryou hit the button. Ryou set the phone down, easing onto his side to he could look at us all again. His eyes shimmered, dark and rich and beautiful.

"Can we walk the gardens again before we check out?" Kek asked. "I want to see the goldfish one last time."

"Yeah, I guess." Bakura sighed, sounding more put out by the idea than I suspected he actually was.

"And now that you guys will be with us every night, we can play our campaign as much as we want," Ryou said.

"Fuck yes." Bakura reached over Kek and I so he could hi-five Ryou.

I listened to them talk, but my eyes started to close. I fell asleep to the soft brush of Bakura's lips against my scars and Kek's fingers tracing down my arms.


	85. Kek 20

"No, cross the strip over. Yeah, better. Pull a little tighter."

I was trying to learn how to braid hair. Ryou's hair was so gorgeous, and I wanted to braid some of our flowers into his hair before we left for the airport.

"How the hell do you have the patience for dozens of these damn things. We're not even done with one yet and I want to take an hatchet to Ryou's hair."

"Not unless you want to sleep outside, you wouldn't." Ryou jerked his head to shoot me a peeved look.

"Don't move! You're going to knock out the dahlias."

"You just threatened to cut my hair with a hatchet!"

"I wouldn't really." I laughed as Bakura fixed the flowers.

"Are you getting the hang of it yet?" he asked.

"I think so."

"Let me see." Marik crawled over to the foot of the bed and poked his head between our shoulders. "You look good, Ryou."

"Thank you, Marik."

I'd bet money that if I could see Ryou's face he'd be blushing. His sunburn had faded to a dark pink, so his cheeks still looked permanently flustered, but I got them to grow even darker this morning when I fed him orange slices during our breakfast.

"Done." I tied the tip of Ryou's hair as Bakura stuck one last sprig of lavender in the band.

"I'm going to take a picture." Marik pulled out his phone, snapping a few shots.

"May I see?" Ryou reached out his hand. He stared at the picture for a moment, smiling. "It's lovely. Thank you, Kek."

"Hey, what about me?" Bakura shouted.

"Thank you, Bakura." Ryou kissed the tip of Bakura's nose.

We all chuckled at the cute, scrunchy face Bakura made when Ryou kissed him.

"Don't expect me to carry any of your suitcases." Bakura snorted.

"But Bakura." Ryou fluttered his white lashes at him. "I'm still sore from my sunburn."

"Okay, fine! I might help carry one bag."

"Psh, don't strain yourself." I snorted. "I'm strong enough to carry them all at once."

"Or we can just load them onto the cart we used to bring them up." Marik shook his head.

It was the usual chatter as we walked down to the lobby. No one mentioned any noise complaints, so either the hotel had good walls, or we got incredibly lucky. I grinned at the memories of Marik's and Bakura's screams. After checking out, we piled into a cab and drove to the airport. Bakura sat in the front seat, leaving Ryou squished between myself and Marik. My imagination instantly jumped to what Ryou would look like nakedand squished between us. His pale arms slung over my shoulders, mouth straining in a wide O.

I squirmed a bit, figuring it'd be better to wait until we were on the plane before I let my imagination run that wild. Trying to distract myself, I took out my phone and flipped through my own pictures- mostly the cats.

"Miss them?" Ryou asked as he glanced at my phone screen.

"Yes. I'm going to give them double treats when I get home."

"Give Diabound VII triple treats for barfing in Atem's shoe." Bakura laughed.

"It'll be good to see them more often. I don't want Kek becoming their favorite." Marik shot a teasing glance at me as he said the words.

"Too late. I'm already their favorite. They know who spoils them the most."

"It's going to be more competitive with me around more often," Marik said.

"I look forward to the challenge."

"You know…" Bakura peeked over the cab seat. "If you both want to compete for my attention as well- I'm all for it."

My reply wasn't fit for public, so- to spare the cab driver- I texted Bakura on our group chat. Only if you sit in my lap and purr for me.

He glanced over the seat again and winked, making me grin. The rest of the ride to the airport was uneventful. We boarded Marik's ridiculously fancy jet and relaxed in the plush seating. I closed my eyes and titled my head back, no reason not to nap on the trip back to Domino. Ryou rested his head on my left shoulder and Marik on my right.

"Why am I everyone's pillow?" I asked, a slight grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"Because you're broad and fun to snuggle." Ryou nuzzled against my shoulder.

"Because you're warm," Marik answered.

"Hey, I want in on this." Bakura sat on Marik's other side. He stretched out across Marik's lap and rested the side of his head against my thigh.

My fingers found their way into his hair, stroking the soft threads of it. They reminded me of cornsilk, and I spend the rest of the flight trying to remember when I'd ever felt cornsilk before. It must have been some half-forgotten memory of Marik's, or something that lingered from his time tampering with the Ghouls' minds, because I knew I'd never shucked corn in my own lifetime. All too soon Bakura was having to sit back up as we were ready to land.

I was excited to get back home, to my own bed, my own kitchen, my own bathroom. Our apartment wasn't near as nice as the hotel suite Marik had selected, but it was home and I'd pretty much spent my entire life there, so it was comfortable. I guess I'd have to get used to a new place once we moved into a bigger apartment, but for today- I just wanted to grab all my kittens and flop on our sofa.

Couldn't help tapping my foot almost the entire ride home. I grabbed most of the luggage before Bakura and Marik could fight over it and rushed to the elevator that would get us to our unit. Ryou walked ahead of me with suitcase in his hand, leaving his other hand free to unlock the door.

"Oh hi guys! I'm glad you made it back safely. How was your trip? I see you got a lot of sun, Ryou."

I had to bit back an angry groan when I saw Yugi on the couch with my cat in his lap and Atem beside him playing duel monsters on his phone. What the hell were they doing here? I knew they were going to feed the cats, but what were they doing here right now?

Ugh.

They're fine. Hell, at this point it'd probably be accurate to say they were our friends instead of just Ryou's, but I couldn't faceplant on the couch with them sitting on it. I had to really contain myself to not snap at them just for existing. Roll will save versus rage.

Ryou, on the other hand, had no such issues. His face lit up when he saw Yugi and he dropped the suitcase so he could sit beside him and scruffle Asshole behind the ears.

"It was great. I have seashells. I'll probably add them to a diorama eventually." Ryou laughed and pressed his own hands to his cheeks. "You should have seen me yesterday. It was twice as bad, but Marik let me borrow some of his oils and they helped a lot."

That smooth little fuck. They way he casually mentioned it, as if we didn't have him begging with ice-cubes pressed against his skin before that point, was pretty sexy to listen to.

"You can get it with just the vegetables!"

I could hear Bakura shouting with Marik's voice right behind them.

"No, you don't get it. Those broths always have meat in them. A little dashi is fine, but I don't want pork fat floating on top of my ramen."

They appeared with the last of the luggage, ignoring us while they continued to argue.

"But that's what makes it so delicious. Marik, why are you like this?"

"Why are you like this? Why do you always have to have the melted fat from an animal corpse dripping down your face three times a day?"

"Clearly, you're forgetting fourth meal and second breakfast."

"You can't just make up meals to be facetious."

"I can too, but someone else made those up. I really shouldn't steal the credit for them." Bakura smirked at his own lame-ass Thief King joke.

"There you are." Yugi stood up, interrupting their - let's face it, their foreplay. "Marik, have you been hiding from me?"

For the swiftest half of a second I could see in Marik's eyes that he was as pissed off about people being in our house as I was. It was nice to know that I had allies in the subtle war of social niceness. Bakura was probably on our side too, but more than anything he looked indifferent. Marik's anger didn't fully register on his face, however, in an instant he put on his brightest "Namu" smile.

"Of course not, Yugi. Sorry, I know I've been in town awhile, but I've been sort of busy."

"You could say I stole all of his time." Bakura purred.

"Two thief jokes in a row? You're losing your edge, Bakura." Atem spoke up, eyes still glued to his phone.

"It's going to be really hard to flirt with Seto during a card game once I shove that phone up your ass," Bakura said.

That made Atem jerk his head up. "Who said anything about-"

"You obviously were." Yugi laughed, but then steered the conversation back toward Marik. "Well, I'm glad you're not hiding from me, then, because I wanted to invite you to a party. It's been years since you've been in Domino. We should catch up."

"Oh, that's sounds… nice, but- uh, you see- we need to look for an apartment, and I have some work to do, and-"

"Sure we'll go." Bakura answered with a grin. A suspiciously sweet one. I didn't trust it.

"We will?" Marik frowned at him.

"Sure we will. I mean, it's been years, and we all have such good memories. Like when you tried to drown Yugi. I remember it fondly!"

"You weren't even there." Yugi shook his head as if that were the only thing wrong with what Bakura just said.

"You're right. I wasn't. I was in the hospital- because those were such good times."

"You were in the hospital." Ryou snorted.

"Anyway, if you really don't want to…" Yugi gave half a pause, looking like a kicked puppy.

"It's fine. Sure we'll go," Marik said, but he hugged himself as he said it.

I don't think it was Yugi he was avoiding- but Atem. In any case, Marik looked like he wanted out of the situation. What was I for if not for helping Marik get out of situations he didn't want to be in? I dropped all my luggage, scooped him up, and carried him towards the kitchen, clicking my tongue against the roof of my mouth to signal the cats that it was time for an extra treat.

"Kek! What are you doing?" Marik shouted.

"You need to help me feed the cats."

They chased after me as I spoke. Asshole leapt at me and clung to my pants leg like always. Ha! Yugi can take my couch, but he can't have my boyfriends or my cats.

"But why are you carrying me?"

"To show off my incredible biceps to Bakura and Ryou. Obviously."

Look, I didn't earn twelve levels as a Bard in hardly no time because I was bad at flirting.

"You can't argue with that logic," Bakura said as he walked over to the couch and sat on the arm furthest away from the others.

I set Marik down as soon as we were in the kitchen and grabbed two cans of cat food and the can opener. Asshole jumped onto the counter before I could even open the first can. I scooped him up and dropped him into the nest of my hair.

"Dammit, you know better. Ryou will eat you if he sees you on his counter."

"I appreciate what you were trying to do, but I'm fine." Marik leaned against the fridge, arms still hugging himself.

I divided each can into two dishes and balanced them all at once toward the mat we kept on the floor where the regular kibble sat. Hamyaa scurried down to mewl with the others as I set the dishes down. I watched them fight for their favorite spots. Ducati and Diabound wouldn't budge, insisting on the first dish, so they ended up growling at each other as they shared while Jason and Hamyaa raced to finish their own dishes. I would have mentioned the similarities between Marik, Bakura, and their cats, but I knew he wanted a response to what he was saying instead.

"I know you were fine, but you weren't happy."

"I… don't want to fake a smile and pretend like everything is 100% perfect. I don't hate Atem, but…"

"Then you and Bakura should go on a date, and Ryou and I can go."

"No." Marik shook his head, looking around the kitchen as he worked out his thoughts. "It's… fine."

"Marik."

"The Pharaoh moved on. He's back, but I did what I was supposed to do, and his return doesn't change that." Marik gestured with his hands. "I'm not underground anymore, and he didn't kill- well, we know that- so there's no reason I should avoid Yugi's party just because… of…" He shook his head, as if he wasn't sure what he wanted to say despite the fact that he needed to say it.

"You okay?" Bakura walked into the kitchen, coiled his arms around Marik's waist, and leaned his head against Marik's sternum.

"Of course." Marik smiled, returning Bakura's embrace.

"Would it make you feel better if I stabbed someone?"

"It's not yourself, is it?"

"Hey, I love you, so you get to choose who I stab." Bakura grinned although his face was half buried against Marik's body.

"I'll take a raincheck for now."

"They're gone." Ryou entered the kitchen with the rest of us. "Marik, are you okay?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"He doesn't want to go," I answered Ryou's question instead of Marik's.

"That's not true. I want to go. But I. Don't. Want to. Deal. With…" Marik exhaled, slumping against Bakura. "It's hard to explain."

"He's not the Pharaoh anymore," Bakura whispered. "Does that make sense?"

"I know what you're trying to say but…" Marik sighed.

"I mean literally. I got to choose his passcode at Kaiba corp. He's not a pharaoh- he's a pretty nile princess."

Marik broke into peals of laughter. He planted a single kiss onto Bakura's forehead and combed his fingers through his hair.

"You going to wear your sexy boots to the party, Bakura?"

"Actually." Bakura chuckled, break away from Marik to give us each a sly look. "I just got a great idea of what to wear for the party."


	86. Bakura 20

I was laughing so hard that I was gasping. Marik rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm to mop up the tears welling in the corners. Kek _literally_ fell out of his chair, and Ryou gave up entirely, resting his forehead against the top of the table with his arms folded around him.

"Did you cheat the throw?" Marik asked once his laughter died down.

"Look at Ryou." I pointed. "If I had cheated, he'd be going at me with a kitchen knife!"

"I would _never_ mistreat one of my kitchen knives like that!" Ryou popped up his head to argue. "I'd use your pocket knife instead."

"But it was an honest throw." I smirked.

Ryou slumped his shoulders. "Yes. It was an honest throw. Somehow, against all odds, common sense, and laws of physics, your dagger somehow manages to pierce the deity in his chest just as his powers momentarily wane during the peak of the lunar eclipse. You stabbed his heart, killing him. You're the next lunar deity."

"That's right! Say your prayers you little shits." I flipped my hair out of my face, glancing over at Marik- and Kek who was still laying on the floor. "I'm your god now."

"Ain't my god." Kek pushed himself back into his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was made in a lab."

Marik groaned. "Actually, since I'm a healer, you _are_ one of my gods. Fuck."

"You know, I hear the best position for prayer is on the knees."

"I don't know." Marik picked up the dice. "Maybe if you granted me special favors I'd be persuaded to do the same for you."

We had this pre-planned. Not me becoming a god in-game. That was just a beautiful fucking coincidence, but the flirting. It looked like I had my usual boxers and red hoodie on, but beneath it, I was wearing my lingerie. We decided that one way or another- the damn bard was getting seduced _this_ game.

"He can't grant you any boons during the eclipse. His powers are still weakened." Ryou spoke up, muttering under his breath afterward. "And that will give me some time to work out this mess."

"Well, since this is a natural spot to take a break-" I snatched the dice from Marik's hand. "I'd like to roll to seduce the bard."

"Again?" Ryou rested his chin in both his hands. "I know you're persistent, but don't you think it's time to give up?"

"Give me three thousand years. Then I might get tired of chasing Rory around." I winked at Kek.

"Let him roll." Kek snorted.

It was a 42, but I needed a 12 or less.

"Sorry Bakura." Kek laughed. "Maybe next time-"

"Actually." Marik picked up the dice. We exchanged a grin before he continued. "I would also like to roll to seduce the bard."

"Oh gods, now he has you doing it, too." Ryou rubbed his temples. "Go ahead."

Marik blew on the dice while staring at Kek. He rolled a 9.

Kek laughed, amused by the fact that Marik succeeded on the first throw when I'd been trying since he'd swapped characters. Joke was on him, though. This was about to become some live action role play.

"Well, okay, we're doing this." Ryou typed a few notes on his keyboard. "Let me remind myself where to start next week. I suppose you both should roll for initiation."

"That won't be necessarily." Marik dropped the dice back into the tin as he stood up. "I don't need dice to tell me how to seduce _this_ bard." He straddled Kek's lap, pressing a single finger below Kek's chin so he could angle up Kek's face. "Do I?"

"Holy shit," Kek whispered, finally catching on.

I propped my elbow on the table so I could lean against my hand and get a good view of Marik in Kek's lap. His hair dripped down like honey as he stared at Kek's surprised, but excited expression.

"Oh," Ryou said when he looked up from his computer.

"Yeah, 'oh.'" I snorted. "Shut off your damn laptop and pay attention."

"I had to make notes," Ryou argued in a harsh whisper.

I laughed at him, but Marik and Kek were too occupied with each other to respond to us. Marik traced his fingers around the shape of Kek's mouth, leaning in and then pulling away before their lips touched. Kek rested his hands on Marik's hips. He was more docile than usual. My lips curved up in a smirk as I watched. Kek knew if he didn't react to Marik, Marik would give in sooner. Hell _I knew that too_ … logically, somewhere, in the back of my head. Each fucking time I knew better, but I could never help myself. Arguing with Marik is just too fun even if it meant having to wait twenty extra minutes before I get off.

Slowly, Kek's fingers spiderwalked to the base of Marik's spine. I paid attention to where and how he touched Marik's back, stowing the information for later use on both of them. A soft gasp escaped Marik. It was as if Marik had been held up by ribbon, but the moment Kek touched his back, he pulled a knot free and Marik sank down. Their lips met, kneading together as Marik tangled his fingers into Kek's hair and Kek climbed higher up Marik's scars.

 _We had a plan!_

But I was pretty sure Marik had forgotten it.

We had planned out this entire sexy speal. Marik was supposed to get Kek all hot and bothered and then threaten to stop if I couldn't join in. I was going to jump on top of the table and knock down all the figurines to make Ryou scream bloody murder at me- it was going to be great! Then we'd drag them both to the bedroom and blow their minds- perhaps blow a little more than their minds.

But I think Kek had managed to turn this around somehow, because Marik was moaning and squirming in his lap and _not saying any of his lines_. It was sexy as fuck to watch, but we really needed to work on Marik's roleplay skills. I cleared my throat, hoping he'd get the hint.

"I think Bakura is trying to get your attention, _malaaki_." Kek tugged Marik's shirt up over his head.

"I'm supposed to have you under my complete, seductive control by this point."

"Yeah? How's that going?" Kek used his thumbs and pushed in and up right above Marik's hips and to his mid back.

Marik tossed back his head, arching, calling out, _bucking_ in an attempt to grind against Kek. Oh baby, I am _remembering that move_. Next time Marik's inside me and about to go off- I'm totally whipping out that trick.

"He's supposed to get you to the bedroom, but it looks like I'm going to have to do everything myself." I stood up and shoved my boxers to the ground before unzipping my hoodie to reveal the lace and ribbon lingerie.

Ryou whistled.

"Like what you see?" I teased my hands down my own body.

"I… never realized how much I was into lingerie until just now." Ryou's eyes were dilated.

His rapt attention put a huge grin on my face. I turned and started out the kitchen, leaning against the doorway and peeking coyly over my shoulder.

"Well, I'm going to the bedroom. The rest of you can stay here if you want."

Soon as I neared the bed, I felt a soft push. It wasn't enough to knock the King of Thieves off of his feet, but I allowed myself to tumble forward, falling on my hands and knees and spreading my legs. Ryou's hand tugged at the lace, his mouth smothered the exposed skin on my back and shoulders. I could tell he really was into the outfit by the fumbling, restless way he grabbed and kissed.

Kek walked in with Marik in his arms, laying Marik down beside me. leaned over toward Marik's side of the bed so we could kiss. Kek stripped, but when he reached for Marik's pants, he fidgeted with the cloth.

"Marik?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"Hmmm?" Marik asked, our mouths still pressed together as Ryou rubbed up and down my thighs.

"There's… something… I've wanted. For a long time now, and we haven't had a chance to do it yet…"

We broke out kiss, noticing how nervous Kek sounded. Even Ryou straightened up to see what Kek would say.

"You okay?" Marik asked.

Kek nodded his head, visibly flushed and shy about whatever he was thinking. He licked his lips before continuing.

"I'm not trying to be macho, but I was hoping…" Kek's blush glowed through his complexion. "You'd let me take you- in a specific way."

"A particular position?" Marik asked, propping himself onto his elbows as he looked up at Kek.

Kek nodded. He plunged down onto the mattress. He turned Marik onto his side and held Marik around the belly to keep their bodies close.

"Like this. I remember teasing you that night about it being Bakura's favorite position, which was true, but I want to be like this so I can kiss your back."

Kek demonstrated, dotting kisses across Marik's shoulders, although careful to avoid the center where Marik couldn't stand to be touched. Marik sighed, shrugging so Kek had more room to kiss. They both had soft, dopey expressions on their face that made my chest ache as I watched them.

"Of course I wouldn't mind." Marik smiled. "I think it's sweet."

"Does that mean I get this pretty Bakura wrapped up like a present all to myself," Ryou teased as he toyed with one of the bows on the teddy.

"Not to yourself." Kek grinned up over Marik's shoulders. "We'll be with in kissing range the entire time."

"That's where I like you." Ryou crawled close enough to kiss Kek.

He scooped the hair away from his face as he stooped low to kiss Marik as well. His sunburn was faded to an adorable pink tint. He glanced at me, dark eyes glistening and making my belly squirm. Ryou loomed over my face, looking more devious than I ever thought possible.

"In the mood for anything specific?" Ryou asked.

"As a matter of fact..." I smirked.

Raising up on my knees, I laid Ryou down close to Marik. Marik held Ryou's jaw and turned his face so they could kiss again, more deliberately than the first time. While they slipped their tongues into each other's mouths, and Kek combed Marik's hair out of the way so it wouldn't tickle his scars, I grabbed the jumbo bottle of lube we'd bought as a "housewarming gift" to celebrate our official moving back into the apartment.

I tucked the bottle between Marik and Ryou and stripped Ryou's pants off his legs. He wiggled out of his shirt at the same time, and then I pumped a glob of lube directly onto his half-hard cock.

"Bakura! That's cold!" Ryou whined.

"Oh? Thought you were into that."

"It's not the same."

"Don't worry." I worked the lube into his skin. "I'll get it warmed up for you."

Ryou exhaled as I stroked him. His fingers curled against the sheets. Beside us, Kek shifted lower, re-writing the scars on Marik's back with delicate presses of his lips. Marik panted, visibly aroused. He reached over and helped me work Ryou's shaft until it was rock hard. I stole a quick, sweet kiss from Marik's lips.

 _I love you_

He didn't so much say it. He mouthed it against my lips as I pulled away. My thoughts evaporated. Heat swelled inside me. I wanted him. I wanted them all. I wanted to wrap my legs around them all at once as they called out. I dove in for another kiss, another, another. I swerved away only to capture Ryou's mouth against my own, sucking on his top lip for a moment before twining my fingers in Kek's hair and tugging. He whimpered, glancing up at him with purple eyes that said Kek knew exactly how I felt- about wanting everyone all at once in a chaotic heap. I blew a kiss at him, not wanting to interrupt his path down Marik's scars.

I was too impatient to prep, but I covered my fingers with lube and slipped them between my legs because Marik and Ryou were watching and I wanted to give them a great show. Ryou slid his fingers up my thighs, the color looked like snow drifts against a baren wasteland, but it was beautiful to stare at- his fingers on my thighs. I couldn't take it anymore. I sunk down Ryou's cock, groaning as his length filled me. That first moment always felt like sucking in breath after holding it too long, and the pleasure was _ah, ah, ah, ahhhh_ , in my throat as I adjusted.

" _Oh gods_ ," I whispered, eyes fluttering closed at that first delicious moment of getting stuffed.

I pressed my knees into the mattress and lifted my ass a few centimeters before succumbing to gravity and dropping back down.

"Where's my phone. I need a- _ah_ \- a first person recording of how good you look."

"Dresser. Not- stopping. If you can't reach. Too bad." I huffed between breaths as I started circling my hips. "Fuck, Ryou! It's been awhile."

"You've been missed."

Ryou stretched his arm as far as he could. Only his middle finger managed to hook the corner of phone, but that was enough to slide it onto the mattress where he could grab it. Ryou swiped along the screen and held it up in front of me. I raised up my arms, scruffing up my hair and exaggerating my belly rolls for the camera as I rode Ryou's cock. Ryou moaned, the camera trembled, and he almost dropped it before adjusting his grip. Kek leaned over Marik and pinched my nipple before stealing a few pumps of lube.

" _Oh_!" Marik sucked in a sharp breath as Kek slipped in the first finger.

"I'll go slow," Kek promised.

"What was your first time like?" Marik asked, hitching back so Kek's fingers could pierce more deeply.

"Embarrassingly pleasant," Kek confessed. "I hid behind a pillow and didn't want to make noise, but I couldn't help it."

"What about you, Bakura?" Marik asked.

"Warm," my voice sounded heavy and coarse in my own ears. "Especially afterward. I remember falling into his arms and not having the strength to move. I felt too warm to move."

Kek and I exchanged a happy look at the memories as I bounced on top of Ryou's cock. He grinned as he prepped Marik, and Ryou filmed it all. I was probably going to regret how dopey I looked later when we watched it again, but oh well. I was too content to care. It was amazing how I felt something unique and different with each of them, and how those feelings all wove together to create something new. I rested my palms on Ryou's chest, using the leverage to quicken my pace. The phone dropped from Ryou's hands as he called out and grabbed my hips instead. It was always fun to make Ryou drop his phone.

"I'm ready," Marik said, eyes locked on Ryou and I as he spoke.

Kek muttered something in Marik's home dialect. I couldn't pick up as many words as I _should_ have been able to, but from what I could catch, he was chanting a healing prayer over Marik's skin. I don't know why that would make _my_ heart flutter, but I grew giddy and laced the fingers of my left hand with Marik's. His eyes shined as his listened to Kek's chant.

Then Kek slipped inside of Marik and Marik's mouth stretched into a wide O as his eyes closed. Kek shifted his hips, keeping his pace slow and their bodies pressed together.

"B-Bakura. Please. Please. Please. Faster."

Ryou nails dug into my hips. I had slowed down to stare at the other two, leaving Ryou close to the edge and desperate.

"Oooops." I chuckled, not sorry in the slightest.

I decided to grab the phone and turn it around so we'd have some footage of Ryou. His eyes were screwed shut and his nails still pierced my sides. He whimpered along with Marik. I rode him as fast as my hips could circle, enjoying every mewl and muttered half syllable. With his bottom lips trembling, Ryou arched. I felt him coming inside me and bounced a little rougher, trying to drag his moment for a few extra seconds longer. I rode out the last minute of his erection before sinking down and seizing his lips. Ryou's fingers raked through my hair as his tongue swirled in my mouth. Marik's cries were a beautiful soundtrack to our kisses.

"Kek!" Marik screamed.

I could hear how close he was. The rapid fire _"ohs"_ pouring from his mouth sounded like gun fire. His top leg curled up, toes twisting in pleasure. Watching Kek take Marik- in my favorite position no less!- made my cock twitch. Ryou wrapped his fingers around my shaft, holding tight as he stroked. I shivered. It was good, but I wanted to be filled. I needed it at that moment. I grabbed Ryou's hand and brought it up to my lips, kissing his wrist. Ryou smiled, as if he'd read my mind. He took the phone back taking a few shots of me dripping sweat in my lingerie before moving the camera's gaze back toward Marik and Kek.

"Oh fuck!" Marik cried.

Kek moved faster. Marik's body rocking with the force of Kek's thrusts. Their jostling shook the bed and sent the headboard slamming against the wall in a steady percussion. Marik was clawing against the sheets, brow furrowed and mouth groaning.

"Marik," Kek sighed against Marik's skin. "Marik. Marik."

"Gods yes. Scream it!" Marik screamed himself. "Louder!"

"Marik! Marik! Marik! Gods- Marik!"

"Oh fuck-" Marik's voice dropped to a husky growl. "Bakura- I want to come."

Well lads. Duty called. And I was all about performing my duty- when that duty was sending Marik to Cloud 9 by helping him come. I belly flopped across Ryou's legs so I could grab Marik's cock and lick his cockhead. Ryou laughed, but I was too eager to care. I sealed my lips around Marik's head and sucked. I couldn't fit much into my mouth because Marik was on his side and I was bent awkwardly over Ryou, but I sucked what I could fit in my mouth eagerly, slurping and wrapping my lips oh-so-tightly around Marik's shaft as I bobbed.

"So good… holy shit." Marik's hair spilled around his face and fanned out around the mattress.

"Wow, Marik, you look so hot right now." Ryou shifted his phone to one hand so he could brush a lock of gold behind Marik's ear. "Listen to how hard you have Kek moaning. He's enthralled."

Marik whined. He gripped Ryou's forearm for something to hold as Kek's cock and my mouth drove him to ecstasy. Marik's breath sputtered into deep, raspy intakes of air. His face twisted, unable to control his expression as he lost himself to the moment.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Fucking gods!"

Marik fisted my hair. He kicked out with his top leg, curled, and flooded my mouth with come. I swallowed, looking up at him once he'd finished. His expression was still locked in his O-face. His chest still heaved. By slow degrees, he relaxed, fluttering his eyes open and smiling at me.

 _I love you_

He mouthed it a second time. I mouthed it back to him. Marik rolled me onto my back, kissing my chest between the folds of lace.

"Did you finish yet?" Marik asked.

I chuckled, grabbing my cock to show him I had _not_.

"Well we'll have to fix that." Marik kissed my nose.

He rose up onto his knees and grabbed Kek, situating him on top of me and positioning himself behind Kek.

"It's mine turn to kiss yours," Marik said, voice still raw from screaming.

I was going to crack a joke about our positions being reversed from the first time, but Kek was rabid with _want_. Before I could say a single word, he was inside me, making me see stars behind my closed eyelids.

"Fuck! Kek!"

It was exactly what I wanted. It was better than I fantasized. I wrapped my legs around his waist and screamed fuck so many times that it didn't even sound like a word, just a stupid noise I was making as he fucked me senseless. I forced my eyes open so I could see Marik behind him kissing the corners of his shoulders.

"Kek." Ryou forced Kek to slow down enough that he could kiss Ryou.

I moaned and twisted to catch Kek's attention, too close to be pacient. He snorted before slamming into me again and making me purr. Ryou kissed my forehead before crawling to the side. He slipped his hand between our stomachs and grabbed me.

"Shit yes! Fuck!"

My back arched off the mattress. It was all too familiar, Kek inside me, Ryou stroking me, but now Marik was with us. His kisses to Kek's back were sloppy and broken, and then he had to give up altogether as Kek moved too hard and quick to be kissed. Marik tangled his fingers into Kek's hair.

"That's right, fuck him harder!"

"Fuck, Marik." Kek choked on a gasp. To my delight, he followed Marik's order and started slamming harder.

"Marik? It's not me you're fucking anymore. It's _Bakura_. Scream his name."

"B-Bakura!"

"Damn right!" I shouted back. My entire body stretched tautly as Kek's cock, Ryou's hand, and Marik's words all made me sore toward climax.

"Now make him come!" Marik smacked Kek's ass.

Kek yelped in delight. My thighs were quivering. Kek pushed into me a few more times, then started screaming as he came. I squeezed tightly around his cock as Kek gave a few last, lazy pumps inside me. Ryou didn't slow down; however, and I came right after Kek. He lay on my chest, arms around me.

"See? Too warm to move," I muttered.

"Good, because I'm a selfish bastard and I don't want to let go." Kek kissed my collarbone.

I kissed the crown of his head. Ryou set his phone aside and pressed close beside us. Marik spooned him from behind. I stuck my tongue out at Marik.

"You were supposed to lure him to the bedroom and make him beg for us," I said.

"I got him to shout your name, and you lead everyone to the bedroom. Close enough." Marik shrugged.

"That's not the point. The point is you didn't play along with our game."

"I was busy." Marik shrugged again.

"If I'd deviated from the plan like that, I would never hear an end to you bitching about it."

"That's not my problem." Marik smirked.

"Anyone else want strawberry crêpes to go with dinner?" Ryou asked, stifling a yawn and ignoring my and Marik's _very serious_ _argument_.

"Could you make mine with egg whites?" Kek asked.

"I've never tried, but I bet I could make it work." Ryou reached out and combed his fingers through Kek's spikes.

"Thanks, Ryou." Kek grinned.

"Don't run off just yet." Marik held Ryou a little closer.

"Don't worry." Ryou snuggled against Marik's chest. "This is my favorite part. Dinner can wait."


	87. Atem 2

I rearranged the bowls of chips on the coffee table for the fourth time. I heard a knock, but it was the back door. That meant Jonouchi or Tristan. Of course I was happy to see them, but that wasn't really the reason we invited everyone over. Ignoring the happy chatting coming from the kitchen, I ran my fingers through my hair.

They were late. Of course they were late. It was obvious Marik didn't want to come. I had wanted to talk to him a week ago, but I could tell they were tired from travelling and weren't in the mood for visitors. I'm not sure Yugi's idea of a party was the best method, but then again, maybe a few beers and some games would be a good way to break the tension. I just hoped I'd manage to get him alone long enough to apologize.

A real apology. Not like the first time. Not an empty 'how awful.'

I've been thinking a lot since that day Ryou slapped me and Bakura dragged me to the shower. I really was a royal twat. I never really considered things from anyone's point of view except my own. My friends. My justice. It never occured to me that there could be anything outside of that. Good and evil was black and white, right?

At least, I had thought.

But seeing how much Kek and Bakura had changed over the course of our first year back, it made me feel like they were leaving me behind. Perhaps I could win at any game I play (except Uno… apparently), but they were winning at something more important, and I wanted to chase after them in the same way Jonouchi chased after Seto and I until he became a true duelist.

I've tried, a few times, to apologize to Bakura. Once the day he asked us to start a gaming company with him, and twice over text. Every time, he avoids the topic. I can see that part of him hates me, will always hate me, but things had become oddly… I dare say amiable between us. He keeps muttering about Resurrection Club. So sure, if that's what he wants to call it, instead of friendship, then I'm alright with that.

I was afraid Marik would be just as avoidant. I don't blame them, for not wanting to think about it, but I have to at least try and give him a sincere apology. Entire generations of his family… ruined… for me.

I told myself it wasn't my fault. I didn't ask for it. I would have never asked for that, but that didn't change the fact that my memories were always going to be carved into his and Kek's backs.

"There you are!" Jonouchi busted into the living room, grabbing me, pulling me against his chest, and messing up my hair.

"How's it hanging?" Honda asked.

"Good." I nodded to Honda as I pried Jonouchi's arm away.

"Beer?" Yugi asked as he walked into the living room with several bottles in his arms.

I grinned. "Let's play a game."

"You know I'm always up for a game." Jonouchi grabbed one of the bottles from Yugi's hands and kissed his cheek.

"Yugi, do we have anything stronger?"

"... maybe." Yugi grinned as he ran to the kitchen.

While he was gone, I scanned the pile of older games from the game shop that we kept piled on a extra table behind the sofa. I saw tiddlywinks and decided that would work. Yugi jogged back into the living room with two bottles of whipped cream vodka, but he skipped to a stop and wrinkled his nose when he saw the box in my hands.

"That old game? Really, Atem, you're as bad as Grandpa. Can't we play something more exciting?"

"We're pre-gaming. Whoever wins takes a shot. Everyone else takes a drink of beer."

"You guys should probably know, I was _really good_ at this game as a kid." Honda grinned.

"How hard can it be." Jonouchi grabbed the box and dumped everything out between the bowls of chips.

They set the chips onto the floor before Jonouchi could cause a disaster and sat around the coffee table. I grabbed the green squidger and scooped all the green winks over to my corner of the table. No one managed to land a wink into the pot on the first try, but Honda managed to sink three on his second try.

"I'm remembering how to play." He dishes a steady chip. Jonouchi caught it too hard with his squidger and sent it flying.

Another round and everyone had at least one wink in the pot, but Honda cleared his area at the beginning of the next turn.

"Ha!"

"Here." Yugi poured Honda a generous shot.

I was more eager to win the second game. Planning my shots before making them. As a result I won the second and third games, although Yugi won after that.

The expected knock finally rapped against the door and I volunteered to answer it before chugging my beer. Swinging the door open, I started when I saw a figure draped in white linen and gold. A royal purple cape fluttered in the breeze. I blinked my eyes at the sight. That… looked like the clothes I wore when-

My vodka-slow thoughts caught up with my eyes. I scowled.

"Bakura? Did you steal my clothes?"

That bitch. That damn bitch. He was dressed like me! My crown and everything! That's- That's sacred artifacts! How dare he!

"Who knows? Check the back of your closet where you also keep your lemon magician girl cos-"

"But how did you even get into my closet?" I cut him off before his could finish, flushing.

"I got a little help from the Thief King."

"But-"

"He means me." Ryou slid into view, showing off his blood red cloak and indigo shenti.

"I hate you both." I narrowed my eyes at them, realizing I was going to need more vodka.

They pushed their way inside, Kek and Marik behind them. Marik wore violet leather pants and a black top he'd slashed horizontally to make the cloth look like so much ribbon draping from his copper chest, which was something I imagined Marik wearing to a party, but Kek. I couldn't really figure out what to make of his new look. He had on dark pink corduroy pants and a paler tank top with pink eyeshadow beneath the kohl lines and pink spikes of hair. His hair was about six centimeters shorter, and thinned enough to the spikes feathered out instead of clumping together.

"Oh my god! Look at your hair!" Yugi ran up to hip, hoping and reaching up. "Pick me up! I want to touch it!"

Kek laughed in his boisterous, hearty way, lifting Yugi up in the air like he was a porcelain doll before spinning him around.

Yugi scruffled Kek's hair. "You look like Pink Spider!"

"Oh man, I love X Japan," Jonouchi said.

"Excuse the fuck out of me! I'm dressed up as your precious godsdamned pharaoh over here! You peasants should be polishing my sandals!"

"Those aren't mine." I squinted at the shining gold gladiator sandals with straps that wove up to his thighs. I wished they were mine. I was going to steal them because Bakura was an asshole and stole my stuff first.

"You're just dressed like that for attention," Honda said.

"Ha! He called your ass out!" Jonouchi finished his beer.

"Fuck you both!"

"You should have told us you were dressing up. We could have made this a costume party." Yugi gave Kek's new hair a few last scrunches before Kek set him down. "We're playing tiddlywinks for shots. Want to play? Or should I just fix drinks to help you catch up?"

"The Pharaoh wants a beer!" Bakur announced into the room.

"The Pharaoh needs a kick in the ass," I muttered.

"I've been saying that for 3,000 years." Bakura smirked in response.

"I'll go steal some beer from the kitchen." Ryou flourished his robe and headed toward the kitchen.

"That's nothing like me," Bakura complained.

"Oh right, sorry. Pun-pun-punny-pun-pun-pun-and~" Ryou spun, shot Bakura with both his fingers before vanishing into the kitchen.

"Wow. His impression of you is spot on, Bakura- or should I say _pharaoh?_ " Yugi giggled.

The vodka made that funnier than it should have been, and I was doubled over laughing. Bakura grumbled something and dropped onto the easy chair. Kek ran up, lifted me in the air, and spun me around next. I shrieked, but I wasn't afraid of him anymore- just surprised. He ran toward the table with a fierce grin on his face, but Honda and Jounouchi pointed at the same time and told him _no_ , so he dropped down the the floor and stared at the colored chips scattered around the table.

"How do you play?"

"Like this." Honda shot five winks into the pot.

"Let me try." Kek grabbed all the pink chips and tried to sink one, but it only flipped to it's other side. The next one landed in Jonouchi's lap. A third bounced off of the rim of the pot.

"That one was close," Yugi said.

"This… is not Uno, and I hate it." Kek overshot a fourth time.

"Who wants beer?" Ryou burst into the living room with his arms loaded with bottles.

"I do!" Bakura raised his hand into the air.

Ryou snorted and avoided him, passing bottles to everyone around the table, and then Yugi and myself. Only then did he toss a bottle toward Bakura.

"You get a bottle of piss, asshole."

My mouth dropped a little, but Bakura only laughed.

"Did you bring one for me?" Marik asked.

He stood apart from the others. His pair was casual enough, but I got the vibe that he'd rather be somewhere else.

"Sorry, I thought you- here have mine." Ryou offered the last bottle in his hands to Marik.

"I'll go grab one." Marik shrugged and wondered to the kitchen.

I figured that would be my best chance, so I dashed after him. I stopped, mouth dropping a little when I saw Marik chugging an entire beer down in one huge swallow.

"Uh, we have vodka for shots?"

"That's okay." Marik gasped, out of breath from chugging his beer in one gulp. "I don't drink that often, so I'd rather stick to beer."

"Is that why Ryou didn't bring you anything?"

Marik nodded.

"Nervous?" I asked.

"Not really," Marik said, opening a second beer, but only holding it.

"Oh."

Well… this was getting off to a good start. I don't know how to segue from small talk to a real conversation, and Marik was being intentionally difficult. I suppose a direct attack would be best. Me acting coy would only prolong the awkwardness already between us.

"It's me. I get it, but there's something I have to say before I leave you alone."

"What do you mean?" Marik asked if he really didn't know.

"You don't want to see me because I remind you of…" I stared down. I needed another beer myself. "Everything."

I walked as fast as I could to the fridge to grab a beer and then hurry to the other side of the kitchen. I didn't want to stand too close to Marik. It would probably make him feel more uncomfortable than he already was.

"Yeah… you do," Marik mumbled. He exhaled, it was almost a growl. Marik paced behind the island counter in Yugi's kitchen. "It's not your fault. It's just- now that you're back-" Marik shook his head, gesturing with his hands because he couldn't quite find the right words. "It's like there's an invisible expectation for me to _do_ something hanging over my head. And I know it's imaginary. You moved on. We did our job. You coming back was between you and the gods, and had nothing to do with the tomb keepers, but still it's like my skin is _crawling_ with some hidden fate, and this is all going to crash down, and I'll be buried alive again. Fuck. I hate it." Marik stopped, resting his hands on the counter and slumping forward.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." I picked at the beer label with my thumb nail. "And I understand why you would, but if anything, I should be doing something to help your clan- not the other way around.

"We're fine." Marik huffed a single, weary laugh. "It's the rest of the world that's struggling. That's why it took me so long to get here after everyone came back."

"I heard. It's amazing, what you do. I'm glad someone's…" I shook my head. "Out there doing a better job than I did."

"I hate to say it, but somebody had to stop Bakura from being an idiot, otherwise Zorc would have destroyed everything. You did what you were supposed to. We all did, really."

"I wanted you to know… I'm sorry." I tore a strip of the label away from my beer, tapping my foot. "I'm _sorry_. Damn, it doesn't sound right. I mean- I felt bad, during Battle City, when I saw your back, but I felt bad in a… superficial way? It never sank in, exactly what it meant for you, your family, your clan."

"None of the Item holders tended to be adept with empathy," Marik said, but then he smiled. "Except Yugi and Ryou. They seem to be the exception to that rule."

"But it's different now. I'm not a king or a god. Egypt doesn't need a pharaoh, it has a… prime minister?"

"A president." Marik chuckled.

"Yes, a president, and few believe in the old gods anymore, so now I'm…" I shrugged. "Atem."

Marik walked up to me, he stretched out his hand with only the slightest hint of sarcasm in his smile. "Hi, Atem, I'm Marik."

I accepted the offered hand, mirroring his grin. "Nice to meet you."

We both jerked our heads as shouting burst from the living room.

"Uh oh, we left all our idiots in the other room with only Yugi and Ryou to supervise them," Marik said. "Better go make sure they're not destroying any furniture."

We rushed into the living room and-

 _WHERE DID THEY GETS SWORDS?!_

"You vile fiend! How dare you insult my court with your lowly presence!" Bakura stood on the coffee table pointing what looked like a stage sword at Ryou.

"Don't lose your head over it, Kingy- actually, stay still. I'm trying to chop of your head." Ryou winked and licked his blade.

"You've brought mayhem to Kemmet for the last time! Prepare yourself! Our final battle is now!" Bakura cartwheeled off of the table and struck.

I flinched, but Ryou blocked the blow and then side stepped. Yugi, Tristan, and Jonouchi were on the couch, so Malik dropped down the the chair Bakura had sat in earlier. I stood in place, a little anxious for Ryou, although he was handling himself pretty well.

"You're right. This _will_ be our final battle. And when the dust clears- I'll be wearing that shiny crown of yours." Ryou winked.

Bakura parried Ryou's thrust. "Evil can never defeat good!"

"Ha! That's cute! Did your wet nurse tell you that bedtime story when she tucked you in last night?"

I could help but laugh at that, but the sound of metal ringing out still set my teeth on edge.

"Yugi?"

"It's okay." Yugi waived with his hand. "They're from an old cosplay. They _probably_ won't hurt themselves."

"Probably." Jonouchi laughed.

"But Ryou doesn't know how to sword fight!" I protested.

"Sure he does. We took classes later in high school because neither of us liked the gym coach," Yugi said.

"And look at him. He's holding his own. Bakura's not going to hurt him," Marik chimed in.

Ryou cleared this throat, drawing everyone's attention back to their skit.

"As I was saying- your treasure belongs to the people, how dare you hoard it for yourself!"

"You don't want to share it with the people. You want it for yourself!"

"Hey, I'm people, too!"

"This is why Egypt can't have nice things. Because thieves like you ruin _everything_!" Bakura shouted as their swords clashed.

"No, because _kings_ ruin everything!"

They ground their swords together, and snarled at each other. I leaned against the wall, shaking my head. We didn't sound _that_ bad when we'd fought. I figured Ryou was going to stab Bakura, just so Bakura could give me a long, painful, and most likely embarrassing death.

"Wait!" Kek slid down the stair banister. He ran between them, pushing them far enough away from each other to prevent them from striking with their swords. "You can't do this!"

"Who's this jackass?" Ryou smirked. It sent a shiver down my spine. He was really good at acting like Bakura when he wanted to. I'm glad he didn't cut his hair as well. I'd be having flashbacks if that were the case.

"He's my faithful court bard," Bakura answered.

"Ancient Egypt didn't have bards!" I called out at them.

"Shhhh- I want to see how this ends." Yugi pressed a finger to his lips.

I rolled my eyes.

"Don't you see," Kek continued, resting his hands on his heart. "You're not fighting because you hate each other… you're fighting… because… you love each other."

Jonouchi and Honda leaned back on the couch, laughing their asses off. Honda held his stomach, and Jonouchi slapped his knees. Maybe I was laughing a little, too. Maybe I was also blushing a little. Bakura's so fucking dumb.

"Ha! As if a pharaoh could ever love a scoundrel like me." Ryou half turned, allowing the robe the slip down one shoulder before sending a coy- yet somehow still facetious- glance over said bare shoulder. "Regardless of how incredibly sexy, witting, charming, charismatic, dexterous, brilliant-"

"Just kiss already!" Jonouchi cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone.

"What you say is true." Bakura knelt down to one knee. "You, oh glorious King of Thieves! Are the sexiest, wittiest, most charming, most charismatic, most-"

"For the love of the gods, Bakura. If we wanted to watch you stroke yourself for our amusement, we would have handed you a bottle of lube." Marik snorted from his upholstered throne.

Bakura shrugged. "Your eyes are like opals! Your hair- moonlight! Battle cannot make my heart pound near as hard as a glance of your lips. I- hey!"

"Yoink!" Kek stole the crown from Bakura's head and fixed it to Ryou's head instead.

"Ha! I win! You suck, Pharaoh!"

"Betrayal!" Bakura shrieked. "My bard and my thief in league against me! I offered you my love and you only wanted my crown!"

"I never pretended I wanted anything more from you." Ryou smacked Kek's ass. "Come, minstrel, carry me to the throne room where I shall ravage you to celebrate me becoming the new pharaoh."

"Taking a piece of metal off a guy's head and putting it on your own is definitely how overthrowing a monarchy works, so I see no problems whatsoever with this plan despite the fact that the palace is still full of guards and priest loyal to your enemy." Kek lifted Ryou into his arms and moved to carry him out of the living room.

"Thief! Wait!" Bakura toppled over, from one knees to both hands and knees. He clutched his chest with his left hand. "You think you've stolen my crown, but what you truly stole was… my heart. You may think yourself kind to leave me here unbloodied by your sword, but you should know that you've killed me even so." Bakura collapsed.

"He finally shut up!" Honda clapped.

"Ryou, if this is how it ends I'm not sharing any of my vodka with you," Yugi scolded.

I crossed my arms over my chest. I knew they were going to kill me. Not that I wanted an imaginary version of me living happily ever after with Bakura, but I was still mad that their skit was going to end tragically.

"He's dead," Kek said. "I thought betraying him would at least spare both your lives, but I was wrong." Kek set 'Thief King Ryou' to his feet.

"It's not your fault. I should have known a heart that gentle could not survive being broken." Ryou knelt beside Bakura, lacing their fingers together and using his free hand to brush Bakura's unscarred cheek. "Suddenly, this crown has grown too heavy to wear.

Ryou tore it from his hair and fixed it back onto Bakura. Kek knelt on his other side, holding his other hand.

"I come from a far away land, and when I was a child, I heard tales the the kiss of one's true love can call them back, even from the clutches of death."

"But which one of us would it be?"

"I do not know." Kek shook his head.

"There's only one way to find out." Ryou brushed his lips against Bakura's, but nothing happened. Ryou's face dropped. "It didn't work, you should try."

Kek bent low, plucking a delicate kiss from Bakura's unresponsive lips, but Bakura still lay on the floor. I couldn't even see his chest move to breath.

"I don't understand." Kek shook his head. "One of us should have brought him back."

Yugi jumped up from the couch. "You idiots have to do it at the same time!"

That was a little too much for them. They all broke out into a small giggle, even Bakura's face cracked a grin for a moment before 'dying" again. Kek raised his arms into the air.

"I have heard the gods speak! And they have given their wisdom. The pharaoh's heart was two big for a single true love. We must combine our strength- only then may he be revived."

"Then let's us try."

Ryou and Kek lowered down. I realized I was holding my breath, but I couldn't stop myself as I waited for their three-way kiss to end.

Bakura gasped.

He sat up and stared at them.

"You both… brought me back to life? Why?"

"We realized that a king's heart is worth more than his crown." Ryou rested his hand on Bakura's chest. "And if you're still willing to give it to us-"

Kek finished the sentence. "We swear on our own lives to treasure it always."

Bakura twined his fingers with their again, one hand for each of them. When he spoke, his voice sounded raw and emotional.

"It's already yours."

The froze in place. By the stillness I could tell that was the end. Everyone clapped except Marik, but his face was an ear to ear grin. Jonouchi whistled. I hid my face in my hands, cheeks hot against my palms. We should have just stuck to tiddlywinks.


	88. Marik 21

"I love you so much, I can't stand it."

Bakura was curled up in my lap, nuzzling hard against my neck. I couldn't stop laughing. Everyone else in the room was laughing as well, but that didn't detour Bakura in the slightest. His cape was draped across us like a blanket. I took advantage of the cover and slid my hand up Bakura's outer squealed in delight and squirmed in my lap, causing fresh laughter to bubble in the room.

Honda was curled on top of a bean bag chair, asleep. Jonouchi was curled on the end of the couch and hugging a throw cushion. The party had wound down. The vodka bottles sat empty on their sides. Every other game in the game shop was surrounding Yugi's coffee table. WE were drunk and sleepy, and we probably should have called a cab to leave an hour ago, but I was so comfortable that I didn't want to move.

The party was much more fun than I had anticipated. My conversation with Atem helped a lot, and Ryou, Kek, and Bakura's acting had managed to dispel any lingering tension in the air. The fact that Kek got along with everyone eased my mind as well. If they accepted him- and he was once the worst of me- then what did I have to be stressed about? He and Jonouchi had even shadow-boxed in the living room while the rest of us played Clue.

"I love you so much," Bakura repeated, shifting until he found a different position and new areas to nuzzle.

My hands rubbed small circles in his lower back. For a single, radiate moment the world was peaceful, but of course that wasn't going to last. Atem crept up to us. I stayed quiet, already suspecting what he'd do. Reaching out, he plucked the crown from Bakura's silver hair and settled it back on top of his own head.

"Hey!" Bakura made grabby hands at the crown. "Give that back. It's mine!"

"I stole it. That makes it mine now. At least, that's how it always worked when you used to steal things."

"Yeah, but it's funny when I do it."

"But this way is more ironic." Atem pivoted and sauntered away.

Bakura lunged for him, but Atem dodged and Bakura fell face-first onto the carpet. Naturally, that wasn't enough to stop him. He jumped up and grabbed Atem from behind. They wrestled. Kek jumped up and dashed toward them, ready to break them up, but stopped when he saw that they weren't fighting so much as _actually wrestling._ The entire room watched for a moment before Kek broke the silence.

"Well… I'm impressed," he muttered. "You guys are pretty good!"

"Of course." Atem tried to get Bakura in a headlock, but Bakura slipped out of his hold. "I was great at wrestling."

"Yeah, cuz all your kiss-ass servants let you win," Bakura sneered.

"Priest. Set." Atem grabbed Bakura's left ankle and right wrist, but Bakura twisted out of it.

"Okay, maybe not that one." Bakura managed to wrangle Atem to one knee, only to be thrown over his shoulder.

Bakura landed on his back with an _oomph_. Again, Kek moved to assist, but Bakura scrambled up and jumped back into the match.

The scene was familiar. I'd seen similar matches painted on the walls of some of the chambers in the tomb. Bakura flung off his cape, and Atem flung off his shirt so they could lock together, each trying to throw the other.

"You know…" Yugi began. "I read that Egyptians used to wrestle wearing only belts. I think you guys should give us a more historical reenactment- I mean, you're both living history. Do it for science!"

"Fat chance, Yugi." Bakura managed to throw Atem to the ground, ripping the crown from Atem's hair. "Ha!"

"No you don't." Atem flipped up to his feet and grappled with Bakura again.

"You can share it for one night!" Bakura shouted as they played tug-o-war with the crown.

"You know damn well you have no intention giving it back!"

"So?"

"So it's not sharing when you don't return it!"

"Is too! It's long term sharing!"

They were so occupied fighting and arguing, that neither saw me as I strolled past, jerked the crown away from both of them, and fixed it on top of my head.

"There we go. Problem solved."

"Whatever. Have it. I'm getting tired." Bakura dropped to the carpet, arms and legs splayed out like a star.

"It's only fun to steal things from Bakura." Atem mimicked his posture on the floor.

"I'd better watch myself, or this new upstart thief will rob me of my own title." Ryou smiled.

I winked at him, and the subtle gesture was enough to make him blush. Yugi yawned and stretched.

"Should we call a cab?" Ryou asked. "It's late."

"It's early," Yugi corrected. "I can toss blankets and pillows on the floor."

"Been a while since we've had a sleepover." Ryou smiled.

"I'll go grab all my extra bedding." Yugi hopped up and ran upstairs.

Kek stole Yugi's place next to Ryou. They cuddled together, using Ryou's robe like a blanket. Most of us were sobering up, but Bakura and Atem were still buzzed out of their skulls. Atem was humming something that was probably three thousand years old, and Bakura was staring at the ceiling like it had insulted his mother.

"This is an outrage!" Bakura punched the carpet.

"What are you bitching about?" I admired my reflection in a wall mirror near the door. I looked damn good in that crown. Atem probably wasn't getting it back.

"I don't want friends."

"Poor, poor, Bakura, he had to laugh and drink with the rest of us. Here, I'll wipe away your tears." Atem scrubbed Bakura's cheek with the sleeve of his shirt.

Bakura made an attempt to shove Atem away, but missed and swatted at the air. Atem laughed, sitting up enough to poke at the straps of Bakura's sandals.

"Bakura, give me your shoes and I will officially royally pardon all of your crimes."

"Fuck you! I passed my weighing. Shove your royal pardon up your royal asshole."

"But your shoes are shiny and I want them." Atem whined.

"Tough luck."

"I'll trade you. The shoes for the crown."

"Bakura, say yes," I spoke before Bakura could say anything.

"Why would I-"

"Because I want the crown."

"You have the crown. It's on your head, and he's too short to reach it."

"Fuck you, Bakura!"

"In your dreams." Bakura snickered.

"You're so vain, you probably honestly think people have nothing better to do than dream of you all day long." Atem snorted.

"What could be better than dreaming about me?"

"Dreaming about me." I poked Bakura's shoulder with my toe. "Swap with him. I can order another pair of shoes for you, but Bulgari doesn't sell ancient crowns."

"Are we even the same size?" Bakura held up his foot.

"I think so." Atem held up his foot as well.

"Your feet are exactly the same size." Kek laughed.

"This is really fucked up somehow." Bakura frowned at their feet.

"So? Trade?" Atem asked.

"I guess." Bakura blew air from between his lips. "But you have to take them off. I forgot how."

I shook my head, laughing. Yugi walked in as Atem slipped Bakura's foot from the maze of golden straps running up Bakura's calf.

"I don't know what game this is, but I want to play." Yugi dropped the blankets to the floor.

"Save those thoughts for the game we're designing," Bakura said.

"I hope you realize you just gave me permission to design sexy mini games for our main game."

"We are so going to get banned from Steam by the time this comes out." Bakura laughed.

"If that happens I'll sweet talk Seto into designing something to complete with Steam- but we might have to design a few Duel Monsters games before he agrees."

"Could we anyway?" Atem asked, struggling with Bakura's second sandal.

"I want a Duel Monsters dating sim," Kek said.

"Where you date the other duelists?" I asked, wandering back to my chair and yawning myself.

"Pfffff, too easy. Date the actual duel monsters," Kek said.

"I want to date Dark Necrofear," Ryou said.

"Manage to get in a polyamorous relationship with all three gods and you can unlock the secret dateable character, Horakhty," Yugi said.

"Okay but… Dark Master Zorc."

"Bakura, no!" Atem shouted loudly enough to make Honda grumble under his breath before shifting onto his other side.

"C'mon. It'll be hilarious."

"But he has… you know-"

"That's why it'd be so funny!" Bakura cackled.

"Think about it," I changed the topic before they fully woke up Honda and Jonouchi. "Add an advanced mode that allows players to date three Blue Eyes at once, and Kaiba will cream on top of his checkbook before he finishes signing his name."

"Marik's got a point," Yugi said.

"Okay, okay, tomorrow write up the original ideas, but we have to finish the RPG before we do a dating sim." Bakura waved off the conversation with his hand.

"You mean write it up today." Yugi yawned again. "I'd better get some sleep. Do you need help making up pallets?"

"I got it." Ryou jumped to his feet, swaying.

"Careful." Kek stood up and stabilized Ryou.

"Thank you. I thought I'd recovered from drinking, but the second I stood it hit me all over again."

"At least it gives me a nice excuse to hold you." Kek snuggled against Ryou.

"Hey, what about me?" Bakura pouted at Kek. "Why am I laying on the floor with this jerk over here instead of getting smothered with affection?"

"Sorry. You're too far away." Kek snickered. He glanced at Jonouchi curled up in the corner of the sofa. "Can we move him? Marik should have the couch."

My cheeks warmed the second I heard him say it. At first, a flare of "I don't need special treatment" stubbornness tightened my jaw, but after a moment of thought- fuck it. I was a guest, and a couch wasn't that special. Not Yugi's couch at least. Ours was a little more sentimental because of the flood of pleasant memories that came to mind each time I saw it.

"Sure. He'll just sleep in our room." Yugi jostled Jonouchi's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah," Jonouchi yawned, stretching. "Can't sleep with all the noise anyway."

"Atem? Coming to bed?" Yugi beckoned as he led a half-asleep Jonouchi up the stairs.

Atem had his legs shoved in the air as he tried to figure out how to strap the sandals around his pant legs.

"As soon… as I…"

"Gods! You're so fucking stupid!" Bakura sat up and showed Atem how to fight the straps and buckles. "I feel like your wet nurse."

"It's be really weird… if you made milk."

"Go to bed." Bakura dropped Atem's leg back to the carpet.

"No walking. Carry me."

"Oh hell the fuck no. Do I look like Kek to you?" Bakura stumbled back into my lap, crawling over me like one of our kittens before curling into my lap again.

"Ohhh. Kek!"

"Sorry. Busy." Kek was still nuzzling Ryou, making him giggle.

"Fine. I'll walk like a commoner." Atem only managed to crawl.

"How are you more drunk than me?" Ryou laughed.

"Because I always win!" Atem insisted.

"Come on." Yugi appeared again and helped Atem stumble to his feet.

"Aibou! You came back for me!" Atem threw his arms around Yugi.

"Of course I did." Yugi kissed Atem's forehead before guiding him to the stairs."Should I hit the lights?"

"No!" Ryou and Kek both shouted.

Again, my cheeks heated up. This time from appreciation.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, sorry." Yugi bowed in apology before turning up the stairs with the lights still glowing in the living room. "Goodnight, everyone!"

A few people called it back. Bakura grunted. His head grew heavy against my chest. I reached out, stroking his hair and sighing.

"I love you," I breathed into Bakura's hair.

Bakura looked up and grinned at me with a sleepy smile.

"Let's go to the couch." I winked at him. "You can be the little spoon tonight."

"I'm always the little spoon." His smile grew although his eyes remained lidded.

"That's because I love spoiling you." I kissed him before he fumbled to stand and followed me to the sofa.

Ryou was making a pallet, so I kissed Kek goodnight first.

"I wish it were big enough for all four of us," I said.

"We'll pine for you the entire night." He grinned before kissing Bakura goodnight as well.

"Just think of how nice tomorrow night will be once we're all cuddled back together." Ryou held my cheek.

He had a facetious smirk- one befitting of the Legendary Thief King. I narrowed my gaze. I knew he wanted to ask to kiss me. I opened my mouth to lecture him, but he placed a finger to my lips.

"Shhhh. A thief knows when to steal."

He swooped in, bringing our lips together. I moaned, knowing I shouldn't since Honda was still asleep nearby, but unable to hold back as my heart raced. He left me gasping by the end of that kiss, and yearning. We'd only made love a handful of times and I was eager for more.

 _More. More. More._

The more I got of them, all of them, the more I wanted.

"That was so in-character, I could weep with joy." Bakura tugged at Ryou's hair for a much rougher goodnight kiss.

With all our kisses exchanged, I stretched out on the sofa and locked Bakura into my arms. He sighed, sinking heavily into the cushions. I fell asleep to the sound of everyone's soft breaths echoing in the brightly lit living room.


	89. Ryou 23

I woke up cocooned inside Kek's embrace. I shifted against him, savoring the warmth of his body. Reaching out, my fingers searched for Bakura's and Marik's hair, or their shoulders, anything I could brush my fingers against for the comfort of their proximity, but my fingers smacked into the leg of a table instead.

Then I remembered the party, and that explained why my head hurt like I'd drank vodka the night before- also why I was stiff from sleeping on the floor instead of wrapped up with everyone. But the smell of french toast remedied all my little complaints. I crawled out of Kek's embrace to go investigate. I expected to find Yugi in front of the stove, but it was actually Atem. He was a hot mess- his hair was shooting out in extra directions- I mean, more so than usual, and his eyes were bloodshot, but the french toast stacked on a plate beside him looked fantastic, and that's what really mattered.

"You've been practicing." I grinned. That first day that I taught him to make hamburgers, he couldn't even hold a spatula correctly.

"Everyone else is always so busy, so I've been trying to cook." Atem shrugged, a little sheepish.

"Need any help?'

"You could start waking people up, but watch Yugi. He's-"

"Grouchy in the mornings, I know." I laughed. "But not half as bad as me, so I'll be fine."

I decided to wake up my own first. I covered my mouth to mute my laugh when I walked back into the living room. Kek was coiled into a ball at Marik and Bakura's feet on the couch, snoring. He must have woken up without me, but not enough to go find me. I slipped my phone out from one of the hidden pockets in Bakura's robe and took a picture.

"Is that breakfast?" Honda asked as I switched to video.

"Yes. Would you set the table before I wake Yugi?" I asked, eager to get rid of him before I woke the others.

"Good idea." He scratched his head, yawned, and made his way to the kitchen.

With him gone I was able to creep closer to the sofa and close in on Bakura's sleeping face.

"You're still cuddle bunnies."

"In my defense- I was drunk," Bakura muttered, his eyes closed.

"You're so good at excuses," I teased. "Atem made french toast and it's almost ready."

"Why the fuck do I care to eat Mr. Pharaoh's french toast?" Bakura opened his mouth wide to yawn.

"Because he looks more than a little hung over and I'm sure you'll think of plenty of ways to taunt him about it."

Bakura popped open one eye, grinning. "Okay, that does sound fun. You win. I'm up."

One down. Two to go. As Bakura padded, barefoot, into the kitchen to tease Atem, I leaned down to Kek and stole a kiss. He murmured against my lips. His eyes fluttered opened and he grinned.

"What did you say?" I smiled myself, brushing our noses together.

"The light above you makes you look like an angel."

"Thank you." I blushed. "Atem's cooking breakfast."

"Okay." Kek kissed me again. Sat up. Kissed me yet again. Stood. Grabbed me and kissed me again. Then he attacked my throat with a swarm of kisses that left me breathless.

"Go eat!"

"But you're sweeter than French toast." Kek licked up my throat.

"You can have me for dessert tonight."

"When you put it like that..." A last kiss, and Kek followed Bakura and Honda into the kitchen.

I stooped down, pressing one knee into the couch cushions and hovering above Malik. I woke him up gradually, brushing my nose up his cheek first, then grazing my lips against the shell of his ear while I combed his couch-mussed hair.

"Morning," he whispered.

"Good morning."

" _Hmph_. I forgot why I usually don't have more than one drink. I sleep too hard and won't notice how I twist."

"Oh." I straightened up enough to reach for his shoulders and massage them, understanding that his back hurt. "We'll leave after breakfast and once we're home, massage your oils into your back."

"Thanks." Marik hooked his arms around my waist and kissed me. He sighed, burying his face into Bakura's red robe. "Thanks."

"Making you happy makes all of us happy," I whispered into his hair.

"I know… and I love you guys for it." Marik chuckled, nervous and a little giddy.

"Don't make me cry before breakfast." I pulled away and swiped at my eyes with Bakura's crimson sleeve. I moved to go up the stairs, but not before adding in a quiet voice, "We love you too."

I left before I got any more emotional. My heart somersaulted all the way up the stairs, and I had to rest at the top to catch my breath and calm down before slipping into Yugi's room. I hadn't expected Marik to say it yet, although he'd said it in a safe, general way. Still, it was hard not to curl into a ball and giggle. For once I didn't even want to eat- not even french toast. My stomach was jittery and excited. I wanted to laugh and kiss all three of them until all the joy overflowed from my fingertips as I stroked their hair. Taking one more moment to hug myself with a grin on my face, I straightened back up, and went to find Yugi and Jonouchi.

The scene that greeted me in Yugi's room was a familiar one, something I'd often see when I was dating Yugi. He curled half on top of Jonouchi, so similar to the way Bakura always curled on top of Kek that I couldn't help smiling at the comparison. Their hair was tousselled more than Marik's, fanned out against their pillows. The matching bracelets they always wore lay on top of each other from their wrists overlapping.

I decided to leave the bracelets alone, but- dressed up as I was- I was in the mood to steal something. Leaning over, I slipped my fingers behind Yugi's neck and unfastened the collar. Yugi whimpered the moment it left his skin.

"Bakura, steal something else. That was a gift." Yugi rubbed his eyes.

"I know. I gave it to you to replace the one you lost at that tournament in Oslo."

"Ryou." Yugi noticed it was me and sat up. "Sorry, I thought you were the other Bakura."

"Stupid Seto. It's his fault we were kicked out of that hotel and lost some of our stuff in the rush," Jonouchi grumbled, rubbing his forehead with a scowl as he woke up. "Picking a fight with that other duelist. We're lucky we didn't all get disqualified."

"Atem made breakfast." I set the collar back into Yugi's hand, my job of waking him up complete.

"You'd better watch out, Ryou. He's getting almost as good as you at cooking."

"We should hurry and eat, then." I smiled, keeping my thoughts to myself.

Any pre-schooler with an easy bake oven could graduate to French toast with enough practice. Atem can challenge my reign over the kitchen when he can serve a mimosa brunch of eggs benedict-topped percutio, smoked salmon piped new potatoes, and strawberry crepes- with a cantaloupe champagne carpaccio for dessert.

Almost as good as me in the kitchen! Yugi! Please!

I rushed back into the kitchen to see how the third-rate chef with fourth-rate plating skills was coming along. Everyone else was already around the table digging in and talking about Duel Monsters. I released a slow breath. Perhaps it wasn't fair to insult Atem's french toast, even if Yugi did imply it was comparable to mine- I have owned the same sourdough starter for years, thank you very much! I bake my own bread and soak it in homemade custard before frying it!

It was good though. He used a pinch of cardamom along with the cinnamon and that gave it a bit of extra spice that was very pleasant. The company made the meal even more memorable. Everyone sat crowded around Yugi's table. The chatter was easy and non-stop. There wasn't half a moment for an awkward pause with so many people all adding bits to the conversation like patches to a quilt. And the fact that it was Yugi and Kek, Jonouchi and Bakura, Atem and Malik, that it was everyone together and not separate factions made it one of the best breakfasts I've ever had in my life.

As long as it's known before all the gods in the Tribunal that _my cooking is better_.

Put that on Ma'at's scales and weight it.


End file.
